Funerals held Friday for 2 victims of Parkland school shooting

Alyssa Alhadeff, 14, and Meadow Pollack, 18, among 17 killed in massacre

PARKLAND, Fla. – The funerals of two victims killed Wednesday in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were held Friday.

Alyssa Alhadeff's funeral was the first to be held Friday at the Star of David Memorial Gardens Chapel in North Lauderdale.

Alhadeff, 14, was a student at the school and played soccer for Parkland Travel Soccer.

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"Alyssa Alhadeff was a loved and well-respected member of our club and community," a post on Parkland Travel Soccer's Facebook page reads. "Alyssa will be greatly missed."

Many of Alhadeff's classmates attended her funeral. The attendance was so large, in fact, that the Broward Sheirff's Office directed traffic. 

Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie also attended the private service.

As mourners left the chapel for the burial, a North Lauderdale Fire Rescue crew arrived to treat and transport a woman. It's unclear whether the woman had fainted or suffered a more serious medical issue. 

The night before the funeral, Alyssa Alhadeff's mother, Lori Alhadeff, attended a vigil with countless others mourning the 17 lives lost in the shooting.

Lori Alhadeff called on President Trump to act quickly to prevent future shootings.

"The gunman, a crazy person, just walks right into the school, knocks down the window of my child's door, and starts shooting -- shooting her and killing her," Lori Alhadeff said during a CNN interview. "President Trump, you say, what can you do? You can stop the guns from getting into these children's hands! Put metal detectors at every entrance to the schools. What can you do? You can do a lot! This is not fair to our families and our children go to school and have to get killed!"

Meadow Pollack's funeral was held shortly after Alyssa Alhadeff's also at the Star of David Memorial Gardens Chapel. 

Pollack, 18, was a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and had been accepted at Lynn University in Boca Raton.

"Meadow was a lovely young woman who was full of energy. We were very much looking forward to having her join our community in the fall," Lynn University spokeswoman Jamie D'Aria told CNN.

Diana Gutierrez, who attended both services, said her son was friends with Pollack and Alhadeff. 

"I think he's taking it one day at a time. He's quiet and he's spending a lot of time with his friends. I think that's the only thing they want to do now," she said. "His heart is broken. I mean, there are no words." 

As of Friday morning, three patients remained hospitalized at Broward Health North and four people remained hospitalized at Broward Health Medical Center.

A Broward Health North representative said one person was in critical condition and the two other victims were in fair condition.

Three patients at Broward Health Medical Center are listed in fair condition and the other patient could be discharged sometime Friday. 

The hospitalized victims' identities have not been released. 


About the Authors
Amanda Batchelor headshot

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.

Andrew Perez headshot

Andrew Perez is a South Florida native who joined the Local 10 News team in May 2014.

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