Long Island community comes together to mourn fallen NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller
MASSAPEQUA PARK, Long Island (WABC) -- Family members and friends of Officer Jonathan Diller filed into his home in Massapequa Park on Tuesday afternoon.
Diller, 31, was part of the NYPD's Critical Response Team and was gunned down during a traffic stop in Queens on Monday night.
Now there's a sense of mourning across his entire neighborhood back home on Long Island.
"I'm getting emotional right now because I think of them you know like all cops like families," said Massapequa Park resident James Bonilla.
Neighbors put the flags outside their homes at half-staff while others hung blue ribbons on front porches.
Naomi Sanchez didn't know Diller or his young family, but said she can't stop thinking about her own son who is an officer in Nassau County.
"Every day that my son goes to work, I pray to God and he's always in my prayers," Massapequa Park resident Naomi Sanchez said.
Diller leaves behind a wife and an almost 1-year-old son.
A man who identified himself as Diller's brother-in-law, NYPD Officer Jonathan McAuley, posted a tribute on Facebook that said in part:
"Jon, there are no words to describe how devastated we are that you are gone. You were a good man and a great father whose shoes can never be filled. I swear to you that I will look after your son as if he were my own. For the rest of my life."
The entire community is invited to attend a candlelight vigil for Diller at Brady Park in Massapequa Park on Wednesday night.
"The community, the outpouring of support for the family, everybody just wants to get together and just console one another," said Village of Massapequa Park Mayor Daniel Pearl.
A wake for Diller will be held Thursday and Friday from 2-4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at Massapequa Funeral Home.
A funeral will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Rose of Lima R.C. Church and a burial will follow.
ALSO READ | Suspect who killed NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller has 21 prior arrests, police say
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