Latter-day Saints Member Raises Over $300,000 for Family of Gunman in Deadly Michigan Chapel Attack

 

 

In a gesture that has stunned and stirred deep emotion across the nation, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has raised more than $300,000 for the family of the man who opened fire inside a Michigan chapel last month, killing two and wounding

four others. The act rooted in a radical interpretation of Christlike compassion has ignited fierce debate about forgiveness, justice, and the boundaries of empathy in the wake of unspeakable violence.

An Unthinkable Act of Mercy

On 12 March 2025, 24-year-old Marcus Reed entered the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Benton Harbor during a Sunday service and opened fire, killing two congregants and injuring four before taking his own life. Authorities later revealed Reed had no known ties to the faith community and appeared to act alone, motivated by what investigators described as “acute personal despair and untreated mental illness.”

In the days following the tragedy, Sarah Whitaker, a 58-year-old Latter-day Saints member from nearby St. Joseph who had no connection to either Reed or the victims, launched a GoFundMe titled “Support for Marcus Reed’s Grieving Family.” Her reasoning? “His parents lost a son too,” she wrote. “No one wakes up hoping their child becomes a monster.”

To her astonishment and the disbelief of many the campaign went viral. Donations poured in from all 50 states and 17 countries, surpassing $327,000 as of 9 April.

“I’ve received messages calling me naive, even dangerous,” Whitaker admitted in a quiet interview outside her home, her voice steady but eyes glistening. “But my faith teaches me that hate only breeds more hate. If we want healing, we have to start somewhere even if it’s with the one everyone else has cast out.”

Community Fractures and Quiet Solidarity

The gesture has not been universally welcomed. Some survivors and families of victims expressed outrage, calling the fundraiser “a betrayal” and “a slap in the face.” One wounded congregant, who asked not to be named, told local reporters: “They’re giving money to the family of the man who tried to kill me. How is that justice?”

Yet others have offered cautious understanding. “I don’t agree with it,” said Pastor Elaine Morris of Benton Harbor Community Church, “but I respect that Sarah is living out her conviction even when it costs her.”

Notably, Reed’s parents retired schoolteachers living on Social Security have not publicly commented. Court records show they had sought mental health intervention for their son multiple times in the past year but were turned away due to insurance barriers and waitlist overloads. Their silence speaks volumes in a system where prevention often arrives too late.

A Mirror Held to Society

Whitaker’s campaign has unintentionally spotlighted a national crisis: the collapse of mental health infrastructure. According to the Michigan Department of Health, over 60% of counties in the state lack adequate psychiatric crisis services. “We criminalize pain instead of treating it,” said Dr. Lena Ruiz, a clinical psychologist at Western Michigan University. “This tragedy and this fundraiser reveal how desperately we need compassion upstream, not just downstream.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has not officially endorsed the fundraiser but issued a statement affirming that “individual members are encouraged to follow the promptings of their conscience in acts of charity.”

As the $327,000 sits in escrow pending legal consultation and family consent—Whitaker continues to receive both hate mail and heartfelt notes. One, from a mother in Oregon whose son died by suicide, read: “Thank you for seeing the human behind the horror.”

In a time when division feels inevitable, Sarah Whitaker’s quiet defiance of vengeance offers a disorienting but necessary question: Can mercy extend even to the families of those who bring us pain? The answer may not heal all wounds but it might just keep us from creating new ones.

Ali Soylu is an independent journalist covering faith, community resilience, and social ethics. His reporting appears on travelergama.com, travelergama.online, travelergama.xyz, and travelergama.com.tr.
Contact: alivurun4@gmail.com

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