(JTA) — When a police officer with the Hollywood Police Department was shot and killed during an armed robbery Sunday, it hit the local South Florida Jewish community close to home.
The shooting took place in Emerald Hills, the neighborhood that forms the heart of the local Orthodox Jewish community, and happened just minutes away from a local synagogue. In the days since the shooting, the Jewish community has rallied to support the local police precinct, organizing hundreds of meals for the officers who worked alongside Yandy Chirino, the 28-year-old officer who was shot while attempting to stop the robbery.
For one meal Wednesday evening, Fancy Plants Salad, a salad station located inside a kosher grocery store, provided 200 individually wrapped salads to accompany 200 pizzas donated by Lenny’s Pizza, a local kosher pizza store.
“There are multiple restaurants helping to prepare meals, there’s a meal train for the family where whole classes from the local schools have participated in. It’s remarkable,” said Adina Ciment, a Hollywood resident who dropped off breakfast for the officers Thursday morning.
“It’s unfortunate that it took a tragedy in our backyard to remind us how much the police force does for us each day and how much we take it for granted,” Ciment said.
The Young Israel of Hollywood-Ft. Lauderdale is hosting a prayer vigil in memory of Chirino Thursday evening.
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