Half Moon Bay establishes fund to support mass shooting victims' families
HALF MOON BAY – City leaders in Half Moon Bay have established a fund intended to aid victims of last month's horrific mass shooting, along with their families.
At a meeting on Tuesday, the Half Moon Bay City Council unanimously approved a plan establishing the Coastside Victims Fund. Officials said the fund will provide direct support to the families of the seven people killed and one critically injured victim in the January 23 attack, along with dozens of others who are suffering from psychological injuries and trauma.
"As a community we are grieving," Half Moon Bay Mayor Deborah Penrose said in a statement. "While we know that financial support cannot begin to alleviate the pain of this tragedy, this fund is intended to provide victims with some support to manage expenses during the difficult and long process of recovery."
Two local organizations, the San Mateo County Credit Union Community Fund and the Mavericks Community Foundation, will administer the fund and both groups have provided $10,000 to start the fund. City officials said no administrative fees would come from donations.
The victims who died have been identified as 43-year-old Yetao Bing, Zhishen Liu, 73, Aixiang Zhang, 74, Qizhong Cheng, 66, Jingzhi Lu, 64, Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, and Jose Romero Perez, 38. An eighth victim, Pedro Romero Perez, was critically injured but survived the shooting.
Information about donating to the fund can be found by visiting http://coastsidevictimsfund.org
Donations can also be mailed to the following address:
SMCU Community Fund
ATTN: Support Services
350 Convention Way
Redwood City, CA 94063
Meanwhile, in-person donations can be dropped off at the San Mateo Credit Union Half Moon Bay Branch located at 40 Cabrillo Highway North in Half Moon Bay.