Chick-Fil-A Opens On Sunday To Give Free Food To Orlando Shooting Blood Donors

The controversial company gave food to law enforcement working at the scene as well.

Chick-fil-A typically closes on Sundays, but this Sunday was different.

Workers from the Chick-fil-A Lee Vista in Orlando, Florida, went to work Sunday to offer free food to those lining up to give blood to help those injured in the shooting at LGBT club Pulse. A shooter killed 49 people and injured at least 53 early Sunday when he stormed the club on Latin night, armed with a Sig Sauer MCX, in what would become the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.

Food went to those on line as well as law enforcement working the scene, according to AL.com.

Chick-fil-A has come under fire over president Dan Cathy's statements against marriage equality and the company's past donations to anti-gay groups. Cathy is a vocal Christian and the company has closed on Sundays since 1946 for both "practical and spiritual reasons."

While Chick-fil-A has not released a statement on this particular gesture, a spokeswoman told The Huffington Post there are exceptions to their Sunday policy.

I can confirm that while we have a corporate policy that firmly states we are closed for business on Sundays, there have been rare cases that move our local operators to respond with food donations to help communities in need. The events in Orlando stirred our local restaurant owners and their teams to band together to provide nourishment to first responders as well as volunteers who donated blood. We do not think this requires any recognition. It is the least we can do in this community we love.

This article has been updated to note that, contrary to initial reports, the weapon used in Orlando was a Sig Sauer MCX, not an AR-15.

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