Benefit for Ardsley Park Shooting Victim

A benefit Friday night for one of the victims of last summer’s Ardsley Park shooting.  It was an effort that took months of planning but came straight from the heart of the dozens of volunteers and donors who helped make the fundraiser possible.

Jason Statts and Dave Williams were shot on June 28, 2008, while visiting a friend. Statts was left paralyzed and will likely be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

The event was called “For the Benefit of Statts” and showed just how much the story of Jason and Lyra Statts has touched so many people, even those who don’t even know them.

“When something happens to someone just down the street from you, you just really want to come together to help out,“ said event committee member Susan Laney.

Dozens of people came to Savannah Station to show their support. Through ticket sales and auction items, “For the Benefit of Statts” was organized to raise money for the Statts, who still face challenges a year after the shooting that left Jason paralyzed.

“The tagline for this whole event was a community’s response to a friend in need, because a year later we wanted to let him know that it wasn’t just something sensational in the newspapers. It was something that affected us all in some way,“ said Summer Teal Simpson, an event committee member.

Auction items, food, drinks, entertainment, workers: almost everything was donated, from friends and strangers alike.

“I don’t know Jason, I don’t know his family, but I think not to be able to identify with that sudden extreme change in someone’s life, it’s obvious that many people share that symphathy,“ said Shelley Smith, owner of Eos and Sol Restaurants, which donated food for the event.

“They have a lot of struggles, you know. They’re handling it very positively but they still need help, and it’s amazing that even a year out that the community is still coming together to help them,“ said Dave Williams, who also came to show his support.

The Statts say they’re grateful to know just how many friends they have.

“Just want everybody to know how much we appreciate it and how much it does mean to us. We couldn’t do what we do without the support,“ said Lyra Statts.

The money from the benefit goes to help the Statts with medical expenses, equipment, and adapting their home to be wheelechair accessible.

In January, a jury found Desmond Antonio Hunter guilty in the shooting.  He was sentenced to life in prison.

A second suspect, Ashamir Donshaye Johnson, agreed to testify against Hunter in exchange for a lesser sentence.