A community expressed their anguish and support for the family of Lane Graves – the 2-year-old who died after being attacked by an alligator at a Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday.
The community of Elkhorn in Omaha, Nebraska, tied blue ribbons around mailboxes, doors and trees in honor of Lane on Thursday.
"As a neighborhood, we hope that they just feel the love, basically of how much we care about them and — we can't do anything to replace him but we want to let them know that we care," neighbor Jeff Nichols told KMTV.
The neighbors spent the day adorning Elkhorn with the blue ribbons to show that they care, are deeply saddened and are willing to step in and help whenever the family is ready.
Someone even left a bouquet of flowers and white teddy bear on the porch of the family’s home, reports The New York Daily News.
Neighbors are organizing a "meal train" and getting volunteers to babysit Lane's 4-year-old sister, Ella, when the family returns, to help with the mourning process, KETV Omaha reports.
On Friday, kids in Elkhorn sold “Lemonade For Lane” from noon to 5 p.m., and all proceeds will go building a memorial for the toddler.
And the outpouring of love didn’t end there.
On Thursday, members of St. Patrick Parish in Elkhorn held a mass for Lane in which 100 to 150 people attended and Kingdom Strollers in Orlando — which had rented a stroller to Lane’s parents, Matt and Melissa, for their Disney World visit — started a GoFundMe campaign for the family which has already raised over $50,000.
After the tragic incident on Tuesday — in which Lane’s father tried to wrestle the toddler away from the gator — the Graves family asked for privacy, telling ABC News in a statement:
"Words cannot describe the shock and grief our family is experiencing over the loss of our son. We are devastated and ask for privacy during this extremely difficult time. To all of the local authorities and staff who worked tirelessly these past 24 hours, we express our deepest gratitude.”
If you would like to help support the family, check out their GoFundMe page, here.