NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – In a time of extreme tragedy, New Yorkers are coping by coming together.
The Jewish Softball League in Crown Heights has been meeting up for games every Tuesday and Thursday for the past five years but last night was special.
In between games, players of the league and members of the community stepped out onto the field to pay tribute to 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky.
Yitzi Cole, a member of the league, said a group of non-Jewish men and women came with their children to show solidarity and support following the Borough Park boy’s brutal murder.
We just want to show our love for the little boy that you guys lost because we as parents also feel what you feel in the loss,” one woman said. She added that she wanted to “show her children how to love openly and with no regard to color or race.”
People from the stands came down onto the field and the group handed out white and blue balloons before holding a brief moment of silence. The balloons were let up into the night to honor Kletzky.
“It was just a very special moment in a couple days of sad news,” Cole told 1010 WINS. “You could just see there was a lot of love and a feeling of family in the air.”
“I strongly feel that in this time of political in-fighting and the other craziness that is going on around the world, to see communities come together like this can set a example for the entire country,” Cole added.
Police said Kletzky lost his way home Monday after leaving day camp and asked 35-year-old Levi Aron for directions.
Aron is accused of taking the boy home, suffocating him with a bath towel and butchering his body.
Aron may be indicted as early as Friday on a first-degree murder charge. He has already pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and kidnapping charges.
Aron is being held in protective custody and is being kept under suicide watch.
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