In the aftermath of the latest mass shooting in America, tens of thousands of people have donated to eleven online fundraisers set up to help victims and their families.
On Monday, a gunman perched on a rooftop fatally shot seven people attending a July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois, wounding dozens more. Robert “Bobby” Crimo, 21, now stands charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder over the senseless rampage.
One of the littlest survivors, 2-year-old Aiden McCarthy, narrowly avoided death thanks to his father, who shielded the boy with his own body. But Kevin McCarthy, 37, would not be as lucky. He and Aiden’s mom, 35-year-old Irina, both died in the hail of semi-automatic rifle fire that turned a celebratory day into a horrific crime scene.
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“My boyfriend handed me this little boy and said he was underneath this father who was shot in the leg,” parade-goer Lauren Silva told The Daily Beast in the hours after the tragedy unfolded. “They were trying to stop the bleeding so I brought the boy downstairs into the garage… He kept asking if mom and dad are going to come back soon.”
By Wednesday afternoon, a GoFundMe campaign set up for Aiden had raised a stunning $2.3 million—far exceeding its original $500,000 goal. Billionaire hedge-funder Bill Ackman was among the 42,000-plus donors, pitching in $18,000 on Tuesday night, his office confirmed to The Daily Beast.
“At two years old, Aiden is left in the unthinkable position; to grow up without his parents,” the fundraiser’s donation page states. “Aiden will be cared for by his loving family and he will have a long road ahead to heal, find stability, and ultimately navigate life as an orphan. He is surrounded by a community of friends and extended family that will embrace him with love, and any means available to ensure he has everything he needs as he grows.”
The money will be used to “support him and the caregivers who will be tasked with raising, caring for, and supporting Aiden as he and his support system embark on this unexpected journey,” it says.
Other campaigns are soliciting donations for, variously, medical expenses and funeral costs.
One, which is eerily reminiscent of the McCarthy’s story, seeks assistance for four members of the same family who were seriously injured at Monday’s event.
“Today at the Highland Park annual 4th of July parade my best friend, her dad, husband, and brother in law were all shot in front of their little kids (kids were unharmed),” it reads. “They are all in the hospital undergoing various surgeries, which will seriously impact these families financially. I do not want this to be another burden on them as they will have many obstacles to go through in the months ahead.”
The fundraiser has so far generated nearly $250,000, more than doubling its $100,000 goal.
Then, there’s Lilli Martini, the young woman who came within millimeters of losing her life but—miraculously—survived.
“My name is Lilli, my face was grazed with a bullet at the Highland Park parade shooting on July 4th,” she wrote. “I am raising money to help me as well as my family cover medical and therapy costs as well as other expenses to support my family at this time.”
Her campaign, with an initial $1,000 goal, has now raised almost 20 times that. (Martini wrote about her brush with death in an op-ed this week for The Daily Beast.)
Another shooting victim, Alan Castillo, is awaiting surgery to remove a bullet in his back, his sister-in-law posted, writing, “We ask for any help for the family to cover all medical expenses and post care needed.”
It has so far raised about $60,000, just short of its $65,000 target.
In addition to the McCarthys, the dead were identified as 64-year-old Katherine Goldstein; 63-year-old Jacquelyn Sundheim; 88-year-old Stephen Straus; 78-year-old Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza; and Eduardo Uvaldo, 69.
The Toledo family has so far raised $130,000 for necessary expenses, and the Uvaldos have gotten $62,000 as of Wednesday afternoon. Additional fundraisers added later to GoFundMe’s verified list included a request for donations to benefit Ella and Cooper Roberts, a mother and son who were both shot and injured at the parade; a campaign to help the family of Jacki Sundheim pay for funeral and living expenses; and one for a rising 6th-grader who made it out alive with his mom but both of whom were hospitalized for their injuries and will now need help paying the bills.
The Fourth of July weekend was a particularly deadly one, with shootings across the U.S. that claimed at least 220 lives, according to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive.
