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Feb 5, 2008 5:00 am US/Central

Dallas Firefighter Dies After Shooting

PEORIA, Ariz. (CBS 11 News) ― There is new information to report on two Dallas firefighters who were shot after the Super Bowl game in Arizona.

 Dallas Fire Rescue firefighter Charles Whitaker was taken off life support and died Wednesday morning at a Phoenix hospital.  Another firefighter, Reginald Cuington, remains hospitalized.
Whitaker, a 14-year veteran with the department, and Cuington were in Phoenix to enjoy Super Bowl activities.

 "From what I understand they kinda pre-bought some tickets, in hopes that the Cowboys would come, and when that didn't happen they still had everything bought up so they came out to enjoy it [the Super Bowl]," Mike Tellef with the Peoria Police Department explained to CBS 11 Sports.

 The two were reportedly leaving a nightclub early Monday morning when someone in a car pulled up next to them and began shooting. Whitaker was shot in the chest, neck and leg. Cuington, a 17-year department veteran, was shot in the leg.

 Dallas Fire Rescue Chaplin Ray Edwards is in Phoenix. Edwards is staying at the hospital with the families and ministering to Mrs. Whitaker who reportedly collapsed Tuesday afternoon.

"From what we understand, once his wife found out what his condition was, she needed medical treatment herself," Lavender said. "[It was] probably due to the stress and just the overall emotion of the situation."

 Police have no evidence that there was a confrontation. Witnesses reportedly told police that the firefighters had been in a local bar several times over the weekend and were good customers.

"Chuck's one of the family," said Edwards. "It's just like you have that person in the family that brings joy to every occasion. If someone's in a solemn mood or something, it's just his presence coming around will cause them to go into joking, laughter mode. So he was quite a character, and we enjoyed his company around the station."

 Authorities in Arizona are investigating possible leads in the case and are hoping surveillance video from inside the bar will reveal more information.

 "It's been a rough day for the department as a whole, but all of us are coming together, supporting one another as best we can," said Edwards.

Medical officials say despite having a bullet fragment behind his kneecap, Cuington may be released from the hospital in a day or two.

"We are a family. We spend a third of our lives together. Every third day we report to the fire stations to wait for the bell to ring to protect life and property. So it's quite a brotherhood. Each of our lives, we depend on each other at every incident," said Edwards.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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