Crime & Law
CPS Teacher, Her Husband Among Those Wounded in Highland Park Mass Shooting
GoFundMe has raised more than $130,000 as of Monday
(GoFundMe)
Family and friends are seeking donations to help a Chicago Public Schools teacher and her husband, who were both severely wounded during the mass shooting at Monday’s Fourth of July parade in Highland Park.
Zoe Kolpack, a pre-kindergarten teacher at William Dever Elementary, and her husband were at the parade with their two young children Monday when a gunman on a rooftop opened fire, killing six and wounding at least 30 more.
Both Kolpack and her husband — along with her father and her brother-in-law — were shot, according to a GoFundMe campaign started by a family friend, and have since undergone “various surgeries, which will seriously impact these families financially.”
As of Monday morning, the fundraiser had collected more than $130,000.
“I do not want this to be another burden on them as they will have many obstacles to go through in the months ahead,” family friend Samantha Whitehead, who organized the GoFundMe, wrote on the campaign page. “Please donate whatever you can. Anything is appreciated.”
“The continued support leaves us all at a loss for words,” Whitehead wrote in a subsequent update. “Your generosity is appreciated more than you will ever know.”
Kolpack’s children were not wounded in the shooting, according to the Chicago Teachers Union, which has been active on social media in promoting the GoFundMe.
CPS in a statement Tuesday said it was “devastated” to learn that Kolpack and her family were wounded in the shooting.
“We are all thinking of our William Dever Elementary colleague and her family, as well as all those impacted by this tragedy,” the district said. “CPS officials have been in contact with the teacher and her family and our crisis team and support services will be available to support the Dever Elementary staff and students as needed.”
Robert E. Crimo III, 22, was taken into custody Monday hours after the shooting. Highland Park police identified him as a person of interest, but criminal charges have not yet been filed.
Highland Park officials said Tuesday morning that more information would be made available later today about how to donate to victims of the shooting.
Contact Matt Masterson: @ByMattMasterson | [email protected] | (773) 509-5431
