DENVER -- Tim Mossbrucker never got to meet the man he's named after, but still feels like he knows him.
"I know him through pictures, pictures and stories," he said. "My dad actually found out that my mom was pregnant the day before he was murdered."
Tim's father, a sergeant for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, was killed in the line of duty during a mass shooting at an Albertsons in 1995.
"I can't place a finger on, 'this is when I found out that my dad was killed.' It's just something I grew up knowing," said Mossbrucker.
A gunman showed up at the grocery store and killed his wife and the store manager before posting up outside with a .50 caliber weapon.
"My dad was the first guy on the scene and he was shot," explained Mossbrucker.
Mossbrucker, now 23, was born nine months later. Without a dad, without someone to teach him things, and without the opportunity to tell him the three words that matter most.
"I love you, dad. I just wish I had the chance to tell him that," he said. "It's not easy. There's things you miss out on. How to learn how to work on a vehicle to eating meat. My mom was a vegetarian."
But who his father was will never be forgotten.
"I know he was a family man. I know he was a loving man. He had compassion for those who didn't deserve it and I feel like I can relate with him there," he said.
Mossbrucker is now living on his dad's legacy as a school security guard for Boss High Level Protection. He goes to work every day to protect children and staff at the Denver Jewish School.
"He put everyone before himself and I strive to be like that," he said. "I feel like I have more than one eye in the sky. I just don't want him to be forgotten."
Mossbrucker said working security is the first step in his career. He is also considering going into law enforcement to become a deputy like his father.
"(It's) knowing that I can make that difference, and I know my dad did. I feel like if given the same circumstances I'd be willing to do that as well," he said.
