(JTA) — Family members of the three people killed in the shooting at a Jersey City kosher market were among those who gathered to light the first Hanukkah candle there.
Joseph Seals, a police detective who was killed after confronting the two gunmen in a nearby cemetery before they drove to the store, was remembered at the ceremony on Sunday, while Jersey City police officers who were injured in the shootout at the JC Kosher Supermarket were honored there.
Supermarket owner Mindy Ferencz; a shopper, Moshe Deutsch; and an employee, Douglas Miguel Rodriguez, were killed in the shootout between police and the gunmen.
The market remains boarded up, spray-painted with a mural of a blue heart and the Pulaski Skyway bridge.
On Sunday evening, a small silver menorah and boxes of doughnuts sat on a folding table in front of the market, The New York Times reported.
Ferencz’s brother Yoely Greenfeld recited the blessings and lit the candle as residents of Jersey City and their supporters looked on.
“As we celebrate Hanukkah, may the lives of our candles shine away the darkness, easing the pains of all those who have suffered,” he said.
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