A journalist is raising money to help the Capital Gazette newspaper after it was targeted in a mass shooting
- A journalist has created a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the Capital Gazette newspaper which was targeted in a mass shooting on Thursday.
- Bloomberg's Madi Alexander started a GoFundMe page in order to help cover "medical bills, funeral costs, newsroom repairs, and any other unforeseen expenses" as a result of the attack.
- The campaign has raised more than $38,000 of its $50,000 goal in the hours hours since it began.
A journalist has created a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the Capital Gazette newspaper after it was targeted in a deadly mass shooting on Thursday.
Data journalist for Bloomberg Madi Alexander created the GoFundMe page in order to help the paper and its staff recover after a gunman opened fire through the glass doors of the newsroom, killing five people and injuring several others. According to police, the suspected gunman in custody is a white male in his late 30s.
Money raised during the crowdfunding campaign will be used to help them pay for "medical bills, funeral costs, newsroom repairs, and any other unforeseen expenses that might arise as a result of this terrible shooting."
Alexander told the Baltimore Sun, which owns the Capital Gazette, that the event left her shocked and with an "overwhelming need to help."
"I can't stop shaking because I cant't stop thinking about how this could be any one of us," the 26-year-old reporter told the Sun.
"There's nothing to keep this from happening to any newsroom or newspaper across the country."
The campaign raised more than $38,000 of its $50,000 goal in the hours since it began. While Alexander is not directly affiliated with the Gazette, the fundraising page states that both GoFundMe and Capital Gazette staff would be consulted before any funds were withdrawn or distributed.
Several Capital Gazette journalists described the shooting as it happened, reporting on their own colleagues killed in the attack.
"There is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you're under your desk and then hear the gunman reload," crime reporter Phil David tweeted.
Another reporter, Chase Cook, vowed that the newsroom plans to resume operations.
"I can tell you this: We are putting out a damn paper tomorrow."