GAITHERSBURG, Md. — You can now donate money to help the families of those killed and injured in last week’s parking lot shootings in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties.
The Victims’ Rights Foundation has established what it calls the Heroes Fund specifically for those affected by the three shootings last Thursday and Friday.
The fund was established with an initial donation of $2,000, and if you’d like to donate, you can mail the foundation a check in any amount by May 30.
The address is 814 W. Diamond Ave., Suite 200, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878. For more information, you can call them at 301-212-4141.
The money collected will be distributed equally to the families of the three people who were killed, and the three others injured in the shootings.
The fund was announced at a prayer vigil Monday night held outside Goshen United Methodist Church in Gaithersburg.
Several family members spoke, including Norma Winffel.
Her husband, Malcom, also known as Mike, was shot while trying to help another shooting victim — a woman — outside Westfield Montgomery Mall Friday. He later died.
Norma Winffel said she had just finished an active shooter training class before she last spoke to her husband on the phone.
“Gosh, I didn’t get to tell him, you know, run, run, run away from danger. But he wouldn’t have listened, because that was the man he was,” she said.
“We always knew he was a hero.”
Several members of the Winffel family wore superhero T-shirts to the vigil: Winffel’s daughter Kayla’s shirt had a Superman logo on it, and Winffel’s brother Andy sported a Wolverine shirt.
Also speaking at the event was Roberta Rodriguez, who worked with Claudina Molina at Potomac Home Support.
Molina, a nurse, was shot and killed Friday outside the Giant store in Aspen Hill.
“She was a very sweet person, and she always loved working with elderly people,” Rodriguez said.
“The whole office this morning was like, nobody wanted to be there. Claudina always comes in on Monday mornings.”
