Fundraiser for slain teen shatters expectations

A crowdfunding campaign for the family of a Mississauga teen who was shot and killed in a hail of bullets Saturday has soared past expectations, raising over $18,500 in just a day.

Selma Alincy, a friend of 17-year-old Jonathan Davis’s family, launched an online fundraiser with a goal of collecting $15,000 on Monday. By Tuesday afternoon, it had raised over $3,500 more than its stated target.

“A huge thank you to everyone for their donations and sharing this page,” Alincy wrote on her GoFundMe page. “The goal has not only been met but it has been exceeded in less than 24 hours.

“I am extremely grateful and humble to see a community come to together to help Jonathan’s family. I never expected such [an] immediate and overwhelming response,” she added.

“The family is truly thankful and appreciative for everyone’s support. This contribution will be a big help to the family to make funeral preparations for him in this difficult time.”

Davis, who was just weeks into his final year of high school, was killed in what police are calling a “brazen” act of violence outside an apartment complex on Darcel Avenue near Morning Star and Goreway Drive, west of Toronto.

Investigators have said the teen was not involved in the violence in any way.

Alincy, a friend of Davis’s mother for more than 20 years, told CBC News in a previous interview that the teen was a “respectable young man,” who was quiet, loved video games, was great with electronics and always there to help his father who, she said, has been losing his eyesight.

On GoFundMe, she thanked the community for its contributions.

“Everyone’s generosity is a huge blessing,” she said.