Story highlights Las Vegas Police Officer Charleston Hartfield was 34

"He led his life with honor, dignity and a great capacity for others," a detective says

(CNN) Thousands gathered Thursday night for a vigil to honor Charleston Hartfield, an off-duty Las Vegas police officer who was killed when a gunman fired into the crowd of the Route 91 Harvest Festival.

A sea of candles lit up the Police Memorial Park, a northwest Las Vegas park dedicated to fallen officers as the community remembered Hartfield. The 34-year-old was a police officer, an accomplished Nevada Army National Guard sergeant first class and a youth football coach.

Charleston Hartfield

"[Charlie] loved his country and his city. He is the most patriotic person I've ever met," an officer who worked with Hartfield said.

But he was most proud of being a husband and the father of two children.

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