<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/84267747_1731979351867004_r.jpeg" width="100%" />
<div>This is the bullet still in his chest.
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/84267747_17319793218129_r.jpeg" width="100%" />
<div>This is the plate that was put in during surgery.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Hi, my name is Julie and I'm Merrill's SIL.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjaFdO0HcJE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Drive-by shooting leaves two in the hospital</a>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>On Friday night, November 15th, Merrill, his son, and a friend were eating at a restaurant when they got caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting. <strong>Merrill was an innocent bystander and got shot.</strong> It was supposed to be a great weekend of surfing with Merrill and his son. Unfortunately, his weekend was cut short and now Merrill is currently in the hospital with a bullet 1 cm away from his aorta. The bullet went through his left arm and shattered his humerus, then pierced his lung, and is currently residing 1 cm from his aorta. As a family, we call it one of God's tender mercies; had the bullet not shattered his humerus, it more than likely would have had enough energy to penetrate his aorta. We are also very grateful that his son did not get hit.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>On 11/17, he had surgery to repair his arm; he got screws and a plate. He is in constant pain, on oxygen, had a blood transfusion, has fluid in his lungs, and at this point, the doctors don't think they will remove the bullet because it is too risky. He is still having issues with his lungs and the position of the bullet.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We have been told that his friend who was also shot was released from the hospital today on 11/18, and we continue to pray for his recovery.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>At this time, we haven't been given how long he will be staying in the hospital and how many other procedures he will need. <strong>Merrill is a loving husband, father, and grandfather.</strong> His loving wife, Jeany, has taken off work so she can be at the hospital with Merrill. Merrill is self-employed, and a lot of things are unsure regarding the length of time in the hospital, his recovery, rehabilitation, and the time off from work he will need. He faces a long, uncertain journey towards recovery, and his family can use financial support.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Every dollar you contribute will go directly toward his medical expenses, ongoing treatments, therapy, and critical care needs.</strong> Your support will help him access the care he needs to rebuild his life and ease the immense financial burden on him and his family.
</div>
<div><strong>If you're able, please consider making a donation or sharing this story with your network. Even the smallest amount makes a difference. Please keep him and his family in your prayers.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Update on 11/26: Thank you family, friends, and community! Merrill is home, and begins the process of healing and adjusting to life with his current health problems. We continue to prayer for his recovery, especially as he struggles with lung problems. Attached is a news interview.
</div>
<div><a href="https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/oceanside-man-shot-in-suspected-drive-by-shooting-during-surfing-trip" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/oceanside-man-shot-in-suspected-drive-by-shooting-during-surfing-trip" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/oceanside-man-shot-in-suspected-drive-by-shooting-during-surfing-trip</a></a>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Update: 11/28/24 Merrill had to go back to the hospital as he was trying to figure out pain complications related to his injury.
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/84267747_1733252704734311_r.jpeg" width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Update 12/4/24: No words can truly express the thankfulness that Merrill and his wife Jeany feel from your support. Thank you! Attached is a news interview from Santa Cruz area, where the shooting incident occurred.
</div>
<div><a href="https://lookout.co/santa-cruz-westside-drive-by-shooting-victim-merrill-roberts-defies-the-odds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://lookout.co/santa-cruz-westside-drive-by-shooting-victim-merrill-roberts-defies-the-odds/" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://lookout.co/santa-cruz-westside-drive-by-shooting-victim-merrill-roberts-defies-the-odds/</a></a>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Update 12/5/24: Another news video and interview with both victims.
</div>
<div><a href="https://apple.news/AHwplMYdeQVeDmgsmXe0cYA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://apple.news/AHwplMYdeQVeDmgsmXe0cYA" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://apple.news/AHwplMYdeQVeDmgsmXe0cYA</a></a>
</div>

Jessica Switzer

Jennifer Fraisl

Kalin Mcgraw

Patti Koetting

Danielle Meidan

Robert Day

William Lopez

Jacob Rendina

Anonymous

Jeanene Marshall

Roger Knapp

Erik Granath

John McNicholas

George Cruz

michele boddy

Sandra L Brookes

Brett Hatch

Mary M Perez

Rebecca Paiss

James ward

Support Merrill's Recovery from Drive-By Shooting

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

Eligible for Profile Share Badge

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

Support Comments Allowlist

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

checkout headers audience

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

isEligibleForProfileBadge

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.3.0 and above

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Support Merrill's Recovery from Drive-By Shooting

Still $8,879 to go. Help us build momentum.