NY state troopers pay $700 for woman to attend Parkland Funeral

Washington D.C. [United States], Feb 20 (ANI): In a humanitarian gesture, two New York state troopers paid for a woman to fly to Florida and attend the funeral of a childhood friend who was killed in the school shooting last week.

Robert Troy and Thomas Karasinski met Jordana Judson, 23, at New York's LaGuardia airport on Thursday, a day after the tragic incident occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, claiming 17 lives.

Judson, who had graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, said that her family was close with the family of Meadow Pollack, who was among the 17 people killed, reported the Hill.

"They were like our second family our whole lives," Judson said of the Pollacks.

According to the several media reports, Judson tried to buy a plane ticket to Florida, but learned that it would cost nearly $700, which she couldn't afford. When Judson asked for a bereavement discount, the airline company declined to accommodate her.

That is when the state troopers handed over their credit cards.

"I look up, and the state troopers are standing there, and they're both handing over their credit cards," she recalled. "I'm telling them that they don't have to do this. This is crazy. They said: 'It's already done. We want you to be home with their families. This is a tough time,"

"It was very heart-warming. It made my heart full and heavy at the same time," she added.

19-year-old Nikolas Cruz gunned down at least 17 people on Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. He was a former student and was expelled from the school for disciplinary reasons.

Cruz has been booked on 17 counts of premeditated murder. (ANI)