ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WAVY) — The parents of fallen Virginia Beach Police officer Cameron Girvin said their son was living out a lifelong dream by wearing the badge.

“[He was] the life of the party, and from the time he was five, he wanted to be a police officer,” said Cameron Girvin’s mother, Barbara Girvin.

As the region prepares to say goodbye to Cameron Girvin and Christopher Reese, both VBPD officers who were shot and killed during a traffic stop Friday, we’re learning more about the two men who lost their lives. Girvin’s parents, from upstate New York where they are from, gave insight into what motivated their son to be an officer, and how excited he and his wife were to welcome their first child in August.

Barbara and Arthur Girvin say for Cameron, wearing his badge was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, and they recounted how their son used to call them frequently, often coming on his way to work.

The phone call they got early Saturday morning, however, was much different.

“My daughter had left for Florida and was only there for 24 hours, and a quarter after two in the morning, she calls us and said to my husband, ‘You need to wake mom up, Cameron was hurt at work, he was shot,'” Barbara Girvin said. “We got the call a couple of hours later that the doctors couldn’t do any more for him and they took him off life support.”

They call what happened a senseless act of violence. Their son, in the prime of his life, and his wife Jess, were preparing to welcome a baby girl later this year.

“We were making plans for his birthday for him, and Jess’ mother was getting arrangements made for a baby shower, and everything’s been shattered,” Barbara Girvin said.

“I have my moments, my moments where I can just cry and cry and cry, and today happened to be one of those days,” Barbara Girvin said.

The Girvin family is grateful to the Virginia Beach Police Department for the continued support, and they know one thing is true, their son died doing what he loved.

Cameron Girvin’s funeral will be held in Virginia. Funeral plans are pending.