CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Thousands of Massachusetts Institute of Technology students, faculty and staff as well as law enforcement officials from across the nation are lining up for a solemn tribute to fallen campus police officer Sean Collier.
MIT officials say they are expecting as many as 10,000 people at Wednesday's service at Briggs Field.
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[h=3]Slain MIT officer remembered[/h]
The line of mourners stretched for about a half mile an hour before the ceremony was scheduled to start. They had to make their way through tight security, including metal detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs.
Authorities say Collier was killed by the Boston Marathon bombing suspects Thursday. He had worked for the department a little more than a year.
Vice President Joe Biden, MIT President L. Rafael Reif, police chief John DiFava and members of Collier's family are scheduled to speak.
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[h=3]Why bombing suspects killed MIT officer[/h]
Investigators believe that Collier was killed because the two bombing suspects wanted to take his gun, CBS News senior correspondent John Miller reported.
Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev only had one real gun and one pellet gun. Investigators believe because the officer's holster had a locking system, they apparently couldn't get the gun out.
Collier was shot in the head execution-style while sitting in his patrol car.
One of the first responders was officer Richard Donohue. A few hours later, he would be seriously wounded in a shootout with the Tsarnaev brothers.
Funerals were held Tuesday for Collier and the 8-year-old boy killed in the Boston Marathon bombing.
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[h=3]Boston Marathon bombing victims[/h]
A private funeral Mass was held in the morning for young Martin Richard, followed by his burial, a family statement said. Only immediate family members attended. A funeral also was held for Collier.
"The outpouring of love and support over the last week has been tremendous," the Richards' statement said. "This has been the most difficult week of our lives and we appreciate that our friends and family have given us space to grieve and heal."
The family, from Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, said it would hold a public memorial service in the coming weeks to celebrate Martin's life.
Martin was among three people killed when two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15. His mother and younger sister, who's in first grade, were among the more than 260 others wounded.
Krystle Campbell, 29, of Medford, and Lu Lingzi, a 23-year-old Boston University graduate student from China, also died in the attack. On Monday, Campbell's funeral was at St. Joseph Church in Medford, Mass., and a memorial for Lu took place on Boston University's campus hours later.
MIT officials say they are expecting as many as 10,000 people at Wednesday's service at Briggs Field.
[h=3]Slain MIT officer remembered[/h]
The line of mourners stretched for about a half mile an hour before the ceremony was scheduled to start. They had to make their way through tight security, including metal detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs.
Authorities say Collier was killed by the Boston Marathon bombing suspects Thursday. He had worked for the department a little more than a year.
Vice President Joe Biden, MIT President L. Rafael Reif, police chief John DiFava and members of Collier's family are scheduled to speak.
[h=3]Why bombing suspects killed MIT officer[/h]
Investigators believe that Collier was killed because the two bombing suspects wanted to take his gun, CBS News senior correspondent John Miller reported.
Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev only had one real gun and one pellet gun. Investigators believe because the officer's holster had a locking system, they apparently couldn't get the gun out.
Collier was shot in the head execution-style while sitting in his patrol car.
One of the first responders was officer Richard Donohue. A few hours later, he would be seriously wounded in a shootout with the Tsarnaev brothers.
Funerals were held Tuesday for Collier and the 8-year-old boy killed in the Boston Marathon bombing.
[h=3]Boston Marathon bombing victims[/h]
A private funeral Mass was held in the morning for young Martin Richard, followed by his burial, a family statement said. Only immediate family members attended. A funeral also was held for Collier.
"The outpouring of love and support over the last week has been tremendous," the Richards' statement said. "This has been the most difficult week of our lives and we appreciate that our friends and family have given us space to grieve and heal."
The family, from Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, said it would hold a public memorial service in the coming weeks to celebrate Martin's life.
Martin was among three people killed when two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15. His mother and younger sister, who's in first grade, were among the more than 260 others wounded.
Krystle Campbell, 29, of Medford, and Lu Lingzi, a 23-year-old Boston University graduate student from China, also died in the attack. On Monday, Campbell's funeral was at St. Joseph Church in Medford, Mass., and a memorial for Lu took place on Boston University's campus hours later.