Funeral in Detroit for Border Patrol agent killed in Arizona

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Family, friends and fellow law enforcement officials are remembering a Border Patrol agent who was killed during a battle along the US-Mexico border.

The funeral for Brian Terry was held at Greater Grace Temple in Detroit. It began just after 11:00 a.m. Hundred of police officers and US Border Patrol agents were in attendance. The catholic funeral service was also attended by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano who called Terry "an exceptional agent - a true hero."

Napolitano also thanked the Terry family for inviting her and told them she had a personal note for them from the President.

Terry was with a team of agents in Arizona as they tracked a group of men in a canyon on the Arizona side of the border. As they tracked the bandits, a gun battle broke out and Terry was killed.

Four of the bandits were arrested in the confrontation. They are believed to be part of a group of thieves who rob drug smugglers and illegal immigrants as the make their way into the United States. After today's service, the chief of US Customs and Border Protection promised to continue the work Terry was so dedicated to and to find and prosecute the men who murdered him.

Terry is a Flat Rock native who served in the Marines and as a police officer in Ecorse and Lincoln Park before joining the border patrol in 2007. He is survived by his mother father, brother and two sisters. He will be laid to rest at Michigan Memorial Park in Flat Rock.