Donations pour in for funeral of three sisters killed in Sacramento church shooting
Hundreds of people have combined to donate more than $20,000 toward funeral expenses for the three sisters killed in Monday’s mass shooting at an Arden Arcade church.
Family and the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office identified the three girls as 13-year-old Samia, 10-year-old Samantha and 9-year-old Samarah Mora Gutierrez.
Sheriff’s officials said the girls’ father, 39-year-old David Mora, shot and killed his three daughters during a supervised visit Monday evening at The Church in Sacramento on Wyda Way. Authorities say Mora also fatally shot 59-year-old Nathaniel Kong, a family friend and employee of The Church who was supervising the visit, before turning the gun on himself.
A crowdfunding page set up Tuesday evening on GoFundMe by Jovana Venegas, who said the three girls were her nieces, had raised more than $37,000, surpassing its $30,000 goal, by 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Venegas wrote that the sisters “deserve more than anything to at last rest in peace.”
Coroner’s officials identified the three girls as Woodland residents, but they attended school in the Natomas Unified School District. Two of the girls went to Bannon Creek School, and the other attended Leroy Greene Academy, district officials said.
A few who left messages along with their donations on the GoFundMe page identified themselves as teachers at Natomas Unified, some of whom knew the sisters personally.
“They were amazing students who loved learning and loved school,” wrote Jennifer Souza, whose bio on the district website says she is a third-grade teacher at Two Rivers Elementary School. “They had plans, hopes and dreams that I spoke about with them often - now all snuffed out.”
Community members held a candlelight vigil Tuesday at the church, mourning the family and sharing support for the neighborhood church.
Some who attended spoke of how the tragedy illustrates the horrors of domestic violence.
Court records show that Mora was the subject of a five-year domestic violence restraining order ordering him to stay at least 100 yards away from the three girls and their mother, except for during supervised visits with his daughters of up to four hours. He was also legally barred from owning a firearm due to the restraining order.
This story was originally published March 2, 2022 at 9:44 AM with the headline "Donations pour in for funeral of three sisters killed in Sacramento church shooting."
