Flags hung at half-staff as a line of vehicles led a slain Greensboro police sergeant from the Raleigh medical examiner's office to a Greensboro funeral home. The community was honoring Sgt. Philip Dale Nix.

Nix was shot and killed on Dec. 30 at a Sheetz convenience store in Colfax, a community outside of Greensboro. Nix served 23 years in law enforcement and was assigned to the family victims unit. 

The procession got underway at 1 p.m. Wednesday with a westbound route on I-40 after leaving Raleigh. Multiple agencies were honoring Nix and aiding in his body's return to Greensboro. 

"There's a lot of emotions we’ve been dealing with, a very trying time in law enforcement, especially with the Greensboro Police Department," Rick Alston, Assistant Chief Greensboro Police Department said.

He knew Nix as his friend and colleugue for 20 years. 

"I knew him very well," Alston said. "He was an outstanding guy, great character, and he will be greatly missed at the Greensboro Police Department.”

At about 4 p.m. Dec. 30, Nix was off duty when he intervened as three suspects tried to steal five cases of beer from the Sheetz store at 3202 Sandy Ridge Dr., police said. Five shots were fired, and Nix was hit twice, officials said at a hearing Tuesday. 

Authorities charged 18-year-old Jamere Justice Foster with first-degree murder. Z’quriah Le’Pearce Blackwell, 18, and John Walter Morrison, 28, are charged with accessory after the fact. The trio made their first court appearance Tuesday, and a judge set a $500,000 bond for Blackwell, but denied bond for the other two suspects. 

Since Nix's killing, memorials at Sheetz and the police station have sprung up, with people leaving messages, flowers and items for the fallen sergeant, who was a husband and father. 

First responders and community members lined up from Raleigh to Greensboro in tribute to Nix Wednesday afternoon as his body was escorted to a funeral home. 

“Just horrible. You know, we just want to let the family know that we're thinking about them. We're praying for them. And we're all here for them, you know?" said Rob Hartshorn, a former firefighter in Raleigh, watching the procession from a bridge. 

The department is not releasing details on the funeral home location out of respect of the family. 

The Greensboro Police Officers Association is raising money for Nix's family through the Help a Hero website. 

A gathering was also planned for 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Phil McDonald Plaza to honor Nix.  

“I think what you’ll find is all the jurisdictions between Raleigh and Greensboro are here for the same purpose and thats to show their support as well,” Daniel Shoffner, Burlington Battalion Chief. 

Alston said he was touched by the display of support. 

“It means a lot to see the other law enforcement agencies around North Carolina and even out of the state just supporting the Greensboro Police Department,” he said.