Over 200 San Jose children 'Shop with a Cop'

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- In the South Bay, one of the biggest turnouts for Shop with a Cop event was held this morning.

The San Jose Police Department and Target hosted a Heroes and Helpers Holiday Shopping Spree to help over 200 children from six local elementary schools purchase holiday gifts for their families.

Some of the children were impacted by the deadly shooting in Gilroy.

The morning started out by uniformed officers greeting their buddy for the day as they got off the bus and enjoyed a breakfast together.

Gabriel Gonzalez is a sheriff's deputy for the Santa Clara Sheriff's Department and had something in common with his buddy Sophia. "She also went to the same elementary school when I was younger so I'm super excited for that. When I was in elementary school we had officers come to our school. So it's something I look forward to," Gonzalez said.

After breakfast came the fun part, the shopping spree at Target off Coleman Avenue.

Rows of officers and mascots from the San Francisco Giants and 49er's greeted children and families coming into the store.

San Jose Police officer Monica De La Zerda was helping Mason shop for his family. He said he usually doesn't go shopping like this and will look for things for his family.

"It's a wonderful experience. I've been doing this for the last five years and I enjoy coming back every single year. It's a great opportunity to connect with a child today," De La Zerda said.

Officer Saul Zepeda hopes children will remember this day as they get older. "We are out here. Helping them out and we're their friends and that they can always count on us if they have questions or fears they might want to talk about- we're here for them," Zepeda said.