MYFOXNY.COM -
A Long Island community is mourning the death of a hometown Marine.
21-year-old Greg Buckley, Jr. from Oceanside was among the six U.S. service members killed by an Afghan police officer on Friday. Buckley, along with two other marines, was shot to death at a checkpoint in Afghanistan.
The Oceanside community held a vigil for Buckley Saturday night at his home.
Officials said an Afghan working on an installation shared by Afghan and foreign forces shot to death three U.S. service members, raising to six the number of Americans killed by their Afghan partners in a single day.
The newly announced killings happened the same day that an Afghan policeman gunned down three U.S. Marines in a separate attack in southern Afghanistan.
The gunman, an Afghan National Police officer, was working with the Marines and even shared a meal with them.
The fallen hero's father, Greg Buckley Sr., was one of many family members and friends gathered outside the family home where a makeshift memorial now stands.
"The worst part of this is I lost a part of my heart and soul," said Buckley Sr.
"He went over there and they (the Afghans) turned on him. They're shady people, they're shady people."
There have been 26 similar attacks so far this year, resulting in 34 deaths.
According to the U.S. - led coalition, most of the attacks have been carried out by Afghan police and soldiers or militants wearing their uniforms.
"I think this is a terrible tragedy, not just for me but for the community of Oceanside.
It wasn't long ago that community residents were planning Greg's homecoming party. They never dreamed they would be preparing for his funeral.
"He wasn't armed at all," said Greg's Uncle Ted Buckley. "They murdered an unarmed United States citizen."
