Seminole Heights thanks first responders

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Community members in Seminole Heights put together a meal for first responders Monday evening. Dozens of law enforcement, paramedics, and even firefighters were all fed as a show of support from residents, even as the search for a serial shooter continues.

"This community wants to be able to say, 'thank you, thank you,'" said volunteer Bill Truett.

"You know that they're out there on the streets when they could be at home with their own families," said volunteer Lesley Curry.

More than 40 volunteers coordinated an appreciation dinner for upwards of 100 first responders, but in the back of many minds are the four lives lost.  Many explained the aftermath of the murders were the reasons the community felt such an event was so necessary

"Around the holidays, people tend to want to reach out and be a part of the community a little bit more," said Curry.

Tampa police chief Brian Dugan described the show of support as continued motivation to make an arrest, and finally bring normalcy back to southeast Seminole Heights.

"They hear it from me all the time but now they're seeing it and feeling it from the community," he offered.