Community Corner
Donations Pour In To Help Family Of Ex-NJ Teen Killed In Florida
Alyssa Alhadeff, 14, was one of 17 people killed at a Florida high school Wednesday when a gunman opened fire at
BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Donations are pouring in to Alyssa Alhadeff's family to help pay for her funeral experiences following her death Wednesday.
Alhadeff, 14, was one of 17 people shot and killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. when Nikolas Jacob Cruz, an ex-student, walked into the school and began shooting, according to Florida law enforcement and school officials. Alhadeff was a freshman at the high school.
Woodcliff Lake school officials confirmed Thursday that Alhadeff and her family lived in the borough from about 2010 to 2014, NorthJersey.com reported.
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Lara Jordan Kalidyn set up a gofundme page for donations Alhadeff's family Thursday. More than $14,700 was donated as of Friday morning.
"Putting a child to rest must be unthinkable grief," Kalidyn said. "If you are able to donate anything please do so and pray for the Alhadeff family to have the strength and find peace during such a difficult time."
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Alhadeff was a member of the Parkland Travel Soccer team. Laurie Thomas, Alhadeff's coach for the last three years, said she "enriched the lives of the people she was around, we must enrich the lives of the people we come around."
"She was the heartbeat of the team, the one who pushed us to reach our best, she was a superstar but too humble to know it," Thomas said. "She loved her teammates, she stood up for them; she was loyal to the team and protected them because they'd do the same for her."
Alhadeff's mother, Lori, gave an impassioned plea on CNN about the lack of security at many schools and the fact that the gunman was able to access her daughter's classroom so easily.
"A gunman, a crazy person, just walks right into the school, knocks down the window of my child's door and starts shooting her! And killing her!" she said as she held a microphone.
Related: Florida Shooting Victim's Mom To Trump In Video: 'Do Something!'
Related: Ex-NJ Teen Alyssa Alhadeff 'Gave Her Best' In Everything She Did
Related: Florida Shooting Victim, 14, Lived In NJ, 'Loved, Well-Respected'
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Photo: Alyssa Alhadeff/Courtesy of gofundme
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