There’s a tragic irony surrounding the horrific story about a teenage boy with special needs who police say was bound and beaten for hours: While social media was reportedly used to stream part of his assault, the Internet is also rallying to try and show the young man that goodness still abounds in our fractured and hurting world.
As Faithwire reported on Friday, a GoFundMe account was set up with a goal of raising $10,000 for the 18-year-old man — a sum of money the organizer hoped would send the teen a powerful message.
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“For those of you that have seen the horrific torture and trauma recently inflicted on a young man in Chicago, it is not something you will soon forget,” reads the description of the fundraiser. “Let’s take an opportunity now to show this young man and his family some financial support during this difficult time of recovery and let him know there are many out there that are here for him.”
But that $10,000 goal was quickly shattered more than tenfold, with the total raised as of Monday morning coming in at more than $139,000 among more than 4,700 donors — a stunning amount of money that the fundraiser’s organizer called “absolutely remarkable” in an updated message posted to the GoFundMe page on Sunday night.
That message also included a statement attributed to the teenager’s family, which read as follows: “We are so extremely grateful for the support and generosity from everyone. We cannot put into words how touching and encouraging it is to [him] and our family to see what great hearts so many people have.”
According to the message, the family is working with financial advisers in an effort to figure out how to best deal with the monies that are coming in. GoFundMe has also reportedly verified that the fundraiser is legitimate and that funds will go to the teen and his family.
“Thanks again for all the generosity, supportive messages and thoughts and prayers,” the GoFundMe organizer wrote. “It has been a heartwarming reminder that there is still a great deal of good out there.”
As previously reported, the teen with special needs was allegedly bound and beaten, while at least 30 minutes of the assault was streamed on Facebook. One of the accused reportedly said “F— Donald Trump” and “F— white people” during the assault, which is said to have included a knife cutting into his scalp.
Police have arrested and charged Jordan Hill, Tesfaye Cooper and Brittany Covington — all aged 18 — along with 24-year-old Tanishia Covington with a number of purported offenses, including a hate crime, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated unlawful restraint and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, among other charges.
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