More than $1 million was raised within hours for a young boy who lost his parents in the mass shooting at the July 4th Parade in Highland Park.
Kevin McCarthy, 37, and Irina McCarthy, 35, were among the seven people killed in the shooting spree. During the turmoil, their two-year-old son Aiden separated from his parents.
The boy was escorted to the sidelines by some of the participants in the march amidst the chaos.
However, certain videos and photos of a young boy walking around the bloody shooting scene went viral on social media, leading to a search for the boy’s identity and a request for help.
He was reunited with his grandparents and other family members later on. According to the grandfather, the child survived because his father covered him with his body.
The little boy reportedly told his grandparents that “mother and dad are coming soon” and looked shocked.
now GoFundMe Request Set up by community members for the boy he receives thousands of dollars every hour, already crossing the $1.8 million mark with the highest donation of $18,000 received from just one person.
More than 34,000 people have donated money for the child as of Wednesday morning.
“At the age of two, Aiden was left in an unimaginable position; Irina Colon wrote on the GoFundMe account she created for the family and for Aiden to ‘grow up without his parents.
Irina and Kevin McCarthy, Aiden’s parents who were murdered at the Fourth of July Parade in Highland Park
(GoFundMe)
“Aiden will be cared for by his loving family and will have a long road to recovery, finding stability, and ultimately navigating life as an orphan,” the statement read.
The community aims to raise $5 million for the boy with the intent of “helping him and the caregivers who will be tasked with raising, nurturing and supporting Aiden as he and his support system embark on this unexpected path,” the online campaign announced.
McCarthy’s friends said that Aiden’s maternal grandparents would take care of the boy going forward.
Four of the other dead were identified on Tuesday as Katherine Goldstein, 64; Jacqueline Sondheim, 63 years old; Stephen Strauss, 88; and Nicholas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78, are all residents of Highland Park, except for Toledo-Zaragoza, who was visiting family in the city from Morelos, Mexico.
The suspect has been charged with seven counts of murder and faces a life sentence.
