The public has answered a call for help from family and friends of a 2008 Arundel High School grad who was severely wounded in Sunday’s nightmare mass shooting in Las Vegas.
Tina Frost, an alumna of the Gambrills high school, was one of nearly 600 people shot while attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sunday evening. Authorities say 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, a white multimillionaire and avid gambler, brought an arsenal of weapons into a 32nd-floor room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino across the street and opened fire on the crowd. So far, officials have tabbed the toll at 59 people killed and 527 wounded, per the AP.
Frost was shot in her right eye, according to a message on a GoFundMe page set up by a family friend in Odenton to help pay for Frost’s medical care and associated family expenses. The message, attributed to her mother, says she underwent surgery to remove the eye and a bone in her forehead in order to let her brain swell. Frost is now in a coma and breathing only thanks to a ventilator.
“She’s critically stable in ICU for at least a week,” her mother said in the message. “Over the next few days, they’re going to see how she responds to simulation, but until then, we won’t know how bad the brain damage is.”
The page asks for donations to help cover everything from travel and food to missed work time for family members. And in a time of need, members of the public have stepped up, donating a whopping $90,000 (as of 11 a.m. today) to help with care costs.
“Don’t know you personally but have a lot of friends who do,” wrote one donor in an accompanying message. “Keep fighting! Prayers and thoughts.”
“Such a beautiful young woman! Praying for her recovery!” said another.
An Anne Arundel County Public Schools spokesperson said on the school system’s Facebook page that Frost played soccer during her time at Arundel High School. A moment of silence is scheduled during tonight’s game between Arundel and Old Mill high schools “in honor of Tina and all the victims,” the school system said.
