The law enforcement community is mourning the loss of Newman, California, Corporal Ronil Singh who was allegedly shot and killed by an illegal alien the day after Christmas.

Singh, 33-years-old, was shot and killed by an illegal alien suspect, whose name has not been released by law enforcement officials. Singh stopped the illegal alien during a routine traffic stop to check if the suspect was driving drunk in the city of Newman, about 100 miles out of San Francisco, police said.

Soon after, Singh was heard shouting “shots fired” over his police radio and as police arrived at the scene, they found the officer with a gunshot wound. Singh was transported to a nearby hospital where he later died. He leaves behind a wife, Anamika, and his five-month-old son. Police are still searching of the suspect.

Our hearts are heavy for the Newman, CA Police Department after they lost one of their own this morning. Officer Ronil Singh took this Christmas photo with his family just hours before he was shot and killed while on-duty. Thank you for your service sir. #FallenHero pic.twitter.com/VG0Z63zd2S — Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) December 26, 2018

During a press conference on Thursday, Newman Police Chief Randy Richardson choked up as he remembered Singh, 33-years-old, calling him “an American patriot.”

“This is not a big department. This is a department of 12. This is a man that I saw every day he worked,” Richardson said. “This is a man that I relieved on Christmas day so he could go home and spend time with his family and his newborn child.”

“I think what’s being lost here is yes, he was a police officer, and that’s why all of you are packed in this room because he was tragically taken from us,” Richardson continued. “But what really needs to be known is that he was truly just a human being and an American patriot.”

Richardson noted that Singh had immigrated to the U.S. from Fiji to become a police officer, saying “He came to this country with one purpose and that was to serve this country.”

“When I sat with him in the chief’s interview, he told me he came to America to become a police officer,” Richardson said. “That’s all he wanted to do. He truly loved what he did. You’ve never seen a man smile more than him.”

“He loved being a police officer, he loved being a husband, he loved being a father,” Richardson said.

Richardson asked the media and community to remember Singh not only as a police officer but as a human being.

“That’s how he would want to be remembered,” he said.

“He was proud to wear the uniform, and he does want to be remembered as a police officer, but don’t forget the other things, the little things that are often times forgotten in these stories,” Richardson said. “That his five-month-old, he will never hear talk. He will never see his son walk. He doesn’t get to hold that little boy, hug his wife, say goodnight, anymore. Because a coward took his life.”

The Stanislaus County Sheriff Department has set up a memorial fund for the Singh family where readers can donate here.