An innocent 35 year-old resident of the Barge-Chestnut neighborhood was the victim of gun violence earlier this week that has left him, most likely, paralyzed from the waist down. A GoFundMe.com account has been established by the family to assist in defraying the cost of his recovery.

Jonathan Spear, according to his brother, Caleb Spear, was working in his garden on Sunday, June 6th when he was shot twice in a drive-by incident. The driver of the vehicle and the suspected shooter have since both been taken into custody by the Yakima Police Department, according to reports.

In establishing the relief fund, Caleb stated, "Last night (June 6th) Jonathan was the victim of a drive by shooting in Yakima Washington. He was shot twice while working in his front-yard garden. One of the bullets severed his spine. Jonathan and his (pregnant) wife, Valerie, were rushed to Seattle for an emergency surgery. As of this morning (June 7th) he is out of the operating room. They have fused multiple vertebrae, and it is doubtful he will ever walk again. Fortunately, Jonathan is still with us and is expected to retain use of his upper body."

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I think that it goes without saying that NOBODY deserves this fate while simply trying to live their life in a peaceful fashion. That said, this is also a time for a community to band together to help out a fellow citizen in a time of tragedy.

Might you consider making a donation to this family in the wake of unthinkable circumstances? As of this writing, the fund -- originally trying to just collect $10,000 -- is up to $144k!

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