Those who know them and those who do not are opening up their hearts — and their wallets — to the family of Michael and Whitney Lash in their time of need.
More than $70,000 had been pledged to the northwest Atlanta family as of Wednesday afternoon to help them recover from a violent invasion of their home Sunday night. In the attack, Michael was shot in both legs. He is now in the hospital, where he had surgery.
In all, 1,258 people had donated $74,921 as of Wednesday evening, nearing the gofundme.com goal of $100,000. Contributions came in for amounts smaller ($5) and larger ($2,500), and were given by those who chose to remain anonymous and by those whose names are well known.
One donor is Atlanta city council member Mary Norwood, who gave $500
The $2,500 gift came from John Lash, who identified himself in a note on the page as Michael’s uncle.
Three others gave $1,000 each.
The Lash family had just returned to their Sumter Street home Sunday evening following a beach vacation when two teenagers approached Michael Lash on the front porch and asked for a car jack, according to police. As the father of two tried to stop the teenagers from forcing their way into his home, he was shot twice, once in each leg.
(See APD surveillance video of the footage here.)
Whitney Lash said in a post to the fundraising page that her husband, who she said had surgery to insert a rod from his knee to his hip, doesn’t have feeling in his foot, but that doctors are hopeful physical therapy will help him regain sensation
Shots were also fired at Whitney Lash as she ran from the home with the couple’s 6-month-old baby, but no one else was injured. Several suspects then ransacked the family’s home, according to police.
Authorities released Wednesday afternoon a sketch of the alleged shooter. No arrests have been made.
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