ERIE, PA. (THECOUNT) — Angelina Stone, a 24-year-old Pennsylvania mother who was just days away from giving birth to her son, Kyrie, was killed alongside her two young children in Friday’s mass shooting in Erie, as relatives turn to a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for funeral expenses and final arrangements for the family.
Stone was expecting Kyrie on Oct. 14, according to a recent social media post. Her children, 5-year-old Isiah and nearly 2-year-old Amari’anna, also died in the Oct. 9 shooting. The tragedy took the lives of the unborn boy just days before his expected arrival.
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The fundraiser, titled “Funeral Support for Angelina and Her Children,” was organized by Aaliyah Williams, who identifies herself as the sister of Amari’anna’s father. Williams wrote that the family now faces the task of arranging funerals for Angelina, Isiah, Amari’anna and Kyrie, with no money prepared to cover the unexpected costs.
“We have no finances ready to cover this loss,” Williams wrote in the campaign description, explaining that the family has a short window to complete the arrangements. She said the donations will go toward funeral expenses and related final-arrangement fees, with funds directed to Amari’anna’s father to help coordinate the services.
The family is seeking to raise $40,000 through the campaign. When checked Sunday, the page showed more than $23,000 raised from over 550 donations. The total may change as additional contributions arrive.
Visit the GoFundMe campaign, “Funeral Support for Angelina and Her Children,” here.
Via GoFundMe:
I’m raising funds for Angelina, Isiah, baby girl Amari’anna, and unborn Kyrie after an unthinkable tragedy. Angelina’s father killed Angelina and her children in a murder-suicide, and now our family is facing the painful task of laying them to rest.
We have no finances ready to cover this loss, and we have only two weeks from today to get everything done. The funds from this fundraiser will go toward funeral expenses and the fees related to their final arrangements so they can be sent off correctly.
This is more than our family can carry alone right now, and we truly need the community to rally around us. Any donation, no matter the amount, will help ease the financial burden and help us give Angelina, Isiah, Amari’anna, and Kyrie the farewell they deserve. If you are not able to give, please consider sharing this fundraiser and keeping our family in your prayers.
These finds [sic] are going strait [sic] to Amari’anna’s father to support the funeral arrangements for Angelina and the children. I am his sister and we are helping coordinate all the services with Amari’annas father who is Angelinas babydad. Funds will go strait to the father for arrangements.
The shooting unfolded Friday evening at a home near East Seventh and Perry streets on Erie’s East Side. Police responded shortly before 5 p.m. after a gunfire alert and reports of shooting. Investigators found victims outside the residence and additional victims inside.
Eight people were killed in the attack, including Stone and her children, while the suspected gunman also died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, bringing the death toll to nine. Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah described the scene as among the most disturbing he had encountered in his career.
The fundraiser states that Stone’s father killed her and the children in a murder-suicide. Authorities have not publicly established a motive for the shooting, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Erie is a city in northwestern Pennsylvania along Lake Erie, near the Ohio and New York state lines. The shooting occurred in a residential neighborhood on the city’s East Side.
Google Maps: East Seventh and Perry streets, Erie, Pennsylvania
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