Fundraising Campaign Halted
Survivor of mass shooting and relatives ask for halt to fundraising campaign
After surpassing the $400,000 mark, the "Stay Family Tragedy - Cassidy Stay Fund" created to assist the sole survivor of a shooting spree that left her parents and four siblings dead is being halted at her extended family's request.
"We have reached an amazing milestone on this fundraising site and wish to close it as we acknowledge our infinite appreciation to all who have contributed," sole survivor Cassidy Stay and her relatives wrote on the GoFundMe page that was created by a family acquaintance and a Harris County constable who was among the first officers to reach the crime scene. "The generosity of the local, state, national and even global community has humbled us beyond our ability to convey.
"At this time we hope everyone will continue to reach out to those in our various communities with the same care and love that has been shown to us."
"At this time we hope everyone will continue to reach out to those in our various communities with the same care and love that has been shown to us."
The campaign was initiated only one month ago with an original goal of $150,000. The outpouring of generosity to help Cassidy Stay, the heroic surviving teenage daughter, escalated to the closing amount of $400,970 donated by 7,157 people.
33-year-old Ronald Lee Haskell faces multiple capital murder charges in the shooting deaths of Cassidy's father, Stephen Stay, her mother, Katie Lynn Stay, and four siblings when they refused to divulge the whereabouts of Haskell's ex-wife, who is Cassidy's aunt. Cassidy was shot in the head, but played dead until Haskell left. Despite suffering a bullet fracture to the skull, Cassidy called police and warned that Haskell was headed to her grandparent's home. He was apprehended after a three-hour standoff in a nearby residential neighborhood.
In the statement, Cassidy and relatives thanked the public "for your prayers, for your notes of comfort, for the food, for the fundraising, for the rides and for all of the love. Together, you have proven that even the worst acts of one individual are swallowed up by the endless good that has been poured out by the many."