CHAPEL HILL - A member of the town's legal staff with the Chapel Hill Police Department, Matt Sullivan, lost his 6-year-old niece, Catherine Violet Hubbard, in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn.

"We send our love and support to Matt and his family," said Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt. "We hope this family and the entire community of Newtown finds peace and comfort in time."

Town Manager Roger Stancil notified town employees on Monday.

“After learning of the shooting on Friday, Matt left for Connecticut to be with his family,” he wrote. “He has been in touch with his co-workers at the Police Department over the weekend and, through them, has asked that we allow him and his family some time to mourn. He is appreciative of your thoughts and prayers and he will spend the rest of this week supporting his sister and nephew, especially, during this difficult time. He has asked that we all keep them in our thoughts and prayers.”

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to the Newtown Animal Center, PO Box 475, Newtown CT 06470. Donations can also be processed online: theanimalcenter.org/donate.htm.

The Police Department will be making a donation to the Newtown Animal Center in honor of Catherine.

Catherine is survived by her older brother, Frederick William; her parents Matthew and Jennifer; her grandparents Susan and Leo Sullivan and her great-grandmother Geraldine Russell Holden, all of West Chester, Penn.; Nancy and Earl Hubbard of Chatham, Mass.; and four uncles, four aunts, and nine cousins.