A father is remembering his son’s valor after he was killed earlier this month in a shooting at a Mesa McDonald’s drive-thru.
“He was taught to stand up for what was right,” Daniel J. Betker said about his 22-year-old son, Daniel J. Betker Jr.
Court documents show Daniel was fatally shot early on Jan. 14 after defending his friends from a man wielding a firearm. A 26-year-old man was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting at the 24-hour restaurant situated on South Country Club Drive between West Southern Avenue and U.S. 60.
Learned virtues
Betker was grasping at the harsh reality that Daniel’s life was cut short. But the 46-year-old California resident sees his son’s last moments as an example of the young man he was.
Daniel was “very respectable, hardworking, motivated,” Betker said, mentioning he learned just how upstanding he was during a Jan. 20 celebration of life held in his son’s honor. About 25 friends and loved ones gathered on what would have been Daniel’s 23rd birthday. They wrote down their favorite memories and tied them to balloons, which they released.