NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio — Residents of the Waterbury neighborhood in North Ridgeville organized a lemonade stand to support the families of three Lorain police officers involved in a recent ambush attack, including one who was killed, FOX 8 reported.
The grassroots effort, led in part by the children of local law enforcement officers, was held on August 3 and drew community members looking to show their support following the fatal shooting of Officer Phillip Wagner. Wagner was honored during a funeral service last week at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Two other officers, Peter Gale and Brent Payne, were injured in the attack. The motive behind the ambush remains under investigation.
Organizers said all proceeds from the lemonade stand will be donated to the Lorain Charitable Donation fund to assist the officers’ families. For those unable to attend the event, supporters have launched an online fundraiser titled “Lemonade for Lorain” through GoFundMe.
The Lorain fundraiser is not the first that Gideon and Josiah Trank have launched to support law enforcement, WKYC reported. Their efforts began seven years ago when they used a lemonade stand their mother had built for them to raise money to support the family of fallen Cleveland Officer Vu Nguyen.
Since then, the pair has raised more than $21,000 for the families of fallen Ohio officers, according to the report.
