$575K Donated To Family Of Slain Jersey City Police Detective

JERSEY CITY, NJ —Donations to the family of slain Jersey City Police Detective Joseph Seals have topped $575,000 in the week since he was killed.

The Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association set up the GoFundMe page. The association wanted to raise $500,000 for the family. It hit that goal in just five days.

The donations will be given to Seals' family. He left behind a wife and five children, including a newborn baby. The money will be used to cover his children's housing, education, and other expenses. The family lives in North Arlington.

"The outpouring of support has been absolutely amazing, and will have such a positive impact on the grieving family of our fallen brother," said Steve Lenox, who created the GoFundMe page. "While we hit our goal is $500,000, messages of support keep pouring in, more and more people want to be a part of helping a hero's family. Thank you for all of the love."

More than 800 people left messages of support and condolences to the family.

"Detective Joseph Seals made the ultimate sacrifice to save other innocent people," said George Vinsky. "He was the shield between evil and good. He will live within our hearts forever. So very sorry for your painful loss."

Other police officers posted messages of condolences.

"The thin blue line will never be broken," said Port Authority Police Officer Jonathan Collins. "Detective Seals, you are in the hearts and minds of all your fellow police officers. We will never forget. May God bless you and your family."

A funeral Mass for Seals was held Tuesday at St. Aedan's in Jersey City., one of the largest Roman Catholic churches in the tri-state area.

The charitable donations are one way people have rallied to help Seals' family.

The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation will pay off the mortgage on the Seals' family home through its Fallen First Responders Home Program. (See related: Foundation To Pay Off Jersey City Det. Joseph Seals' Mortgage)

"Joseph Seals was a veteran officer and a hero, and he ran toward danger and put his life on the line, so the foundation believes it is our responsibility to protect his family," Trevor Tamsen, a foundation spokesperson, previously said.

Seals, 39, was killed prior to last week's now-infamous shooting standoff in the Greenvillle section of Jersey City Dec. 10. Six people, including Seals, were killed. (See related: 6 Killed In Jersey City Shooting Standoff; Police Officer Dies)

Seals was working a plainclothes detail when he was shot and killed. He saw a U-Haul truck near Bayview Cemetery. The truck was possibly linked to a murder in Bayonne the first weekend in December where a Bayonne man was found beaten to death in the trunk of a car, Jersey City Police Chief Mike Kelly previously said.

Seals approached the suspects in that case and was shot and killed, Kelly previously said. The standoff lasted for about two hours, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

From the cemetery, the two suspects, David Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50, then drove the stolen U-Haul to MLK Drive. Carrying long guns, the two got out and appeared to target a Jewish-owned grocery store in that area. They marched directly into the store and fired at people inside, killing Moshe Hersh Deutsch, 24, and Leah Mindel Ferencz, 32, the wife of the grocery store owner. A man who worked there, Miguel Rodriguez, 49, was also shot and killed.

Graham and Anderson then stayed in the grocery store for hours, and conducted a shoot out with Jersey City police officers. Police fatally shot them. Two other officers, Mariela Fernandez and Ray Sanchez, were also shot, but lived.

Authorities initially said the attack didn't appear to be an act of terrorism. However, on Thursday, representatives with the FBI, the New Jersey Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Attorney's Office said the shooting is being investigated as a "domestic terrorism incident with a hate-crime bias slant."

Related:

• Chilling Details Revealed After 6 Killed In Jersey City Shooting
• Cop Killed In Jersey City Standoff: A Hero Before; A Hero Now
• Fake Fundraisers Profiting From Jersey City Shooting, Cops Warn

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com