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When a woman’s friend died in the Parkland shooting, police officers paid for her flight to Florida

Thanks to their generosity, she could attend the vigil

When a woman’s friend died in the Parkland shooting, police officers paid for her flight to Florida

Thanks to their generosity, she could attend the vigil

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When a woman’s friend died in the Parkland shooting, police officers paid for her flight to Florida

Thanks to their generosity, she could attend the vigil

Jordana Judson, 23, lost a close family friend in the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.She wanted to fly from New York to Florida for Meadow Pollack's vigil, but couldn't afford the pricey fare.Two police officers generously paid for Judson to get to Florida, and JetBlue ended up refunding their costs. Jordana Judson lost one of her closest friends in the February 14 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. She wanted desperately to fly from New York to Florida to attend the vigil for Meadow Pollack, who was a senior at the school, but couldn’t afford it—until two incredibly generous police officers stepped in.CNN reports that Judson, 23, had trouble finding affordable plane tickets online, so she went directly to LaGuardia Airport to see if she could buy tickets in person. But by the time she got there, the last remaining ticket on the flight she wanted was booked. "I just got out of the car and I started crying because I realized this (flight) was the only thing separating me from New York and Florida," she told the network. She walked into the terminal, still upset, when she met troopers Robert Troy and Thomas Karasinski, who asked if she needed help. “She was hysterically crying. We approached her and asked if she was all right,” Karasinski, 26, told The Washington Post. “She wasn’t able to get a lot of words out, but she was talking about the shooting in Florida.” She explained the situation, then went to a ticket counter to try to find an affordable ticket. A one-way ticket cost more than $600, and Judson tearfully called her mother, saying she couldn’t afford it. And before she could do anything else, she saw the troopers taking out their credit cards to pay for her JetBlue ticket. “I said, ‘You don’t need to do that,’” Judson told the Post. “‘I can’t let this happen.’” But it was done, and she gave them both a hug, stunned by their act of kindness. Troy told NBC News that they thought "it was the right thing to do. both agreed if it was anybody in our family that was trying to get down there that we would do anything that we could to try to help." Judson, who is an alum of Stoneman Douglas herself, got on the next flight to Florida and made it there just in time for Meadow’s vigil. “What the officers did provided comfort in the moment. It made my heart full,” Judson told the Post. “It was just a selfless act of humanity. We need to see more of that to balance out all the bad in the world.” On Twitter, Judson thanked the troopers “for this selfless act,” and thanked “Princess Meadow for watching over me.” Her message to those following her story: “Spread love, be kind, and pay it forward.” A spokesperson for JetBlue told NBC News that the airline was refunding the cost of the ticket, so the troopers won’t face hefty credit card charges. JetBlue was “moved by the extremely kind and generous acts of service shown by these officers,” the spokesperson said.
  • Jordana Judson, 23, lost a close family friend in the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
  • She wanted to fly from New York to Florida for Meadow Pollack's vigil, but couldn't afford the pricey fare.
  • Two police officers generously paid for Judson to get to Florida, and JetBlue ended up refunding their costs.

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Jordana Judson lost one of her closest friends in the February 14 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. She wanted desperately to fly from New York to Florida to attend the vigil for Meadow Pollack, who was a senior at the school, but couldn’t afford it—until two incredibly generous police officers stepped in.

CNN reports that Judson, 23, had trouble finding affordable plane tickets online, so she went directly to LaGuardia Airport to see if she could buy tickets in person. But by the time she got there, the last remaining ticket on the flight she wanted was booked. "I just got out of the car and I started crying because I realized this (flight) was the only thing separating me from New York and Florida," she told the network.

She walked into the terminal, still upset, when she met troopers Robert Troy and Thomas Karasinski, who asked if she needed help. “She was hysterically crying. We approached her and asked if she was all right,” Karasinski, 26, told The Washington Post. “She wasn’t able to get a lot of words out, but she was talking about the shooting in Florida.”

She explained the situation, then went to a ticket counter to try to find an affordable ticket. A one-way ticket cost more than $600, and Judson tearfully called her mother, saying she couldn’t afford it. And before she could do anything else, she saw the troopers taking out their credit cards to pay for her JetBlue ticket. “I said, ‘You don’t need to do that,’” Judson told the Post. “‘I can’t let this happen.’” But it was done, and she gave them both a hug, stunned by their act of kindness.

Troy told NBC News that they thought "it was the right thing to do. [We] both agreed if it was anybody in our family that was trying to get down there that we would do anything that we could to try to help."

Judson, who is an alum of Stoneman Douglas herself, got on the next flight to Florida and made it there just in time for Meadow’s vigil. “What the officers did provided comfort in the moment. It made my heart full,” Judson told the Post. “It was just a selfless act of humanity. We need to see more of that to balance out all the bad in the world.”

On Twitter, Judson thanked the troopers “for this selfless act,” and thanked “Princess Meadow for watching over me.” Her message to those following her story: “Spread love, be kind, and pay it forward.”

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A spokesperson for JetBlue told NBC News that the airline was refunding the cost of the ticket, so the troopers won’t face hefty credit card charges. JetBlue was “moved by the extremely kind and generous acts of service shown by these officers,” the spokesperson said.