SC Boy Wears Trooper Halloween Costume to Honor His Father

A young South Carolina boy decided to dress as a trooper for Halloween to be just like his father, who had to medically retire from the job he loved after he was seriously injured on duty.

Lugoff, SC, resident Ashley Sellers Nicks posted on Facebook about her son, Gunner, and his effort to come up with a Halloween costume this year. Gunner had apparently chosen to be the superhero Flash before a moment in TJ Maxx caused him to change his mind, reports WIS-TV .

"Well we happened to be shopping in TJ Maxx one day and he started screaming with excitement. It’s actually scared me [because] I didn’t know what was going on and he saw this costume and was freaking out," Nicks wrote. "He said, 'I got to have this costume Mommy. I want to be a state trooper just like my Daddy! It looks just like his uniform!'"

Ashley's husband, Richard Nicks, was a proud member of the South Carolina Highway Patrol when he was struck by a drunk driver less than a mile from his home while he was on duty in 2012