GoFundMe campaign established for sole survivor of the State College shootings
A GoFundMe campaign was organized Saturday to help pay for the medical expenses of the sole survivor of Thursday’s deadly shootings in State College.
Nicole Abrino was one of three people shot by her ex-boyfriend, Jordan Witmer, in P.J. Harrigan’s Bar & Grill in the Ramada Inn on South Atherton Street, according to State College police.
Abrino — a 21-year-old from State College — was shot in the chest, flown to UPMC in Pittsburgh in critical condition and has had two surgeries so far.
She was downgraded to stable condition and underwent a second surgery on Saturday morning, according to page organizer Rachel Nichols.
“Nicole still has her whole life ahead of her and continues to fight everyday. We are putting together this GoFundMe to assist her and her parents with the medical bills they will soon be burdened with,” Nichols wrote on the GoFundMe page. “Also to help with her parents and older sister who have had to miss work to be by her side in Pittsburgh. Please continue to keep Nicole in your prayers.”
The page has a fundraising goal of $10,000 and raised more than $2,500 in its first 15 hours.
Abrino was shot alongside 62-year-old Dean Beachy and his 19-year-old son Steven Beachy. The elder Beachy — a business owner and horse auctioneer — died Thursday after Witmer shot him in the head. Steven — a recent high school graduate and baseball player — died Friday.
George McCormick — an 82-year-old business owner and retired vending manager at Penn State — was shot and killed on his 60th wedding anniversary. Witmer fled the bar, crashed his vehicle on Waupelani Drive and shot his way through McCormick’s sliding glass door. He shot McCormick and then killed himself, police said.
Witmer returned to Centre County after ending a three-year active duty stint with the U.S. Army. The 21-year-old from Bellefonte had expressed a desire to become a police officer, according to PennLive.
State College police chief John Gardner said Witmer had no criminal record and was legally carrying the small-caliber handgun he used throughout the shootings.
A vigil will be held from 4-5:30 p.m. Monday, organized by Standing at the Gates for Justice, to “remember, mourn and imagine a better world moving forward.”
This story was originally published January 27, 2019 at 11:07 AM.