EXCLUSIVE: Kassy Alia responds to deadly Florence police shooting

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Columbia, SC (WOLO) — The community response to this awful event has been amazing.
Law enforcement from across the state has reached out and some departments have deployed personnel to aid in city wide operations.

Organizations have started reaching out to family members of the officers who were injured and killed during the shooting. ABC Columbia anchor Rochelle Dean sat for a one on one exclusive interview with the founder of     Connect and Serve Kassy Alia, whose husband was killed in the line of duty while serving the Forest Acres Police Department.

Kassy says the deadly officer involved shootings in Florence happened 3 years to the day she buried her husband Greg. Now she is determined to help others who are living her same nightmare.

Alia started the non profit organization Serve and Connect to help do just that. Connect the community with law enforcement as well as serve the men and women in blue and their families impacted by tragedy while doing the job they love.

Alia recounted her own loss back in 2015 and how divisive she says things were between Law Enforcement and the Community. Alia said” I wondered if Greg’s sacrifice and service were valued when he was killed” and says before she even heard about the shooting in Florence she was thinking about the burial of her husband. The news of the mass shooting immediately taking her back to that moment of pain. She said ” The smells were the same, the weather was the same, everything felt so similar.” Moreover, she says she remembered how much the community embraced her and now through her organization she is doing the same.

The organization has partnered with The South Carolina Law Enforcement Association and other groups to set up two go fund me pages. One is the Terrence Carraway Memorial Fund, The other is the Wounded Florence Officers Fund.

Alia says 100 percent of the proceeds donated will go to help the families involved in this mass shooting. Within one day the GoFundMe page generated more than 21 thousand dollars for 30 year Veteran, Terrence Carraway to help pay for his memorial expenses. A second GoFundMe page has also been set up to assist the remaining wounded officers, one Alia says is still in very critical condition.

If you would like to be a part of the recovery process you can donate by clicking on the links below:

https://www.gofundme.com/terrencecarrawaymemorial

https://www.gofundme.com/wounded-florence-officers-fund

We passed $10,000! Can we reach $25,000 before the day is over?https://t.co/PpJw4NBaaghttps://t.co/qUApEHQhTM pic.twitter.com/wFATHe3Znp

— Serve And Connect (@ServeAndConnect) October 4, 2018