Alyssa Alhadeff, 14
When Alyssa was dropped off at school Wednesday morning, her mother said she loved her, and Alyssa replied, “I love you, too.” Those were the last words Lori Alhadeff would hear her daughter say, said Rabbi Mendy Gutnick of the Chabad of Parkland, where the Alhadeff family attends.
“They had such dreams for her,” Gutnick said. “They saw her succeeding in so many different ways.”
Alyssa and her family — her mom and dad and two younger brothers — moved to Parkland, Fla., a few years ago from New Jersey, said family friend and neighbor Leon Fooksman.
“The whole move was about giving the kids a new life in sunny Florida. And this is one of the safest cities in Florida. Many people would agree there is no better place to raise your kids,” Fooksman said.
The Alhadeffs settled in quickly after the move. Alyssa’s father, Ilan Alhadeff, is a doctor. Lori stayed at home and got to know her neighbors. They found a tight-knit community centered on school and sports.
Smart and athletic, Alyssa was on the debate team and at one point also captained her soccer team, Gutnick said. He added that Alyssa had played soccer since she was little and was passionate about the sport.
Alyssa was a member of the South Florida United Youth Soccer Association and played for the Parkland Soccer Club.
“Alyssa Alhadeff was a loved and well respected member of our club and community,” according to a post on the club’s Facebook page. “Alyssa will be greatly missed.”
In a Facebook post, Lori wrote that all her daughter “had to offer the world was love.” The message was shared by Fooksman Thursday.
Gutnick described Alyssa as kind, generous and compassionate.
“It exuded from her personality, this belief and trust in all the good in people,” he said. “She was beautiful inside and out. No one could say a bad word about her.”
Gutnick said Alyssa’s two younger brothers adored and admired her, continually sharing stories about her, he said. He added that it was clear they had a “very special relationship.”
Alyssa and her parents, Gutnick said, loved each other “to the nth degree.”
In the Facebook post, Lori asked that Alyssa’s friends honor her by never giving up and “doing something fabulous” in their lives.
“A knife is stabbed in my heart,” Lori wrote. “I wish I could of taken those bullets for you. I will always love you and your memory will live on forever.”
— Allyson Chiu and Todd C. Frankel
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