Crowdfunding raises more than $80K for C-Train stabbing victim's family
CBC News | Posted: July 8, 2017 11:00 AM | Last Updated: July 8, 2017
Police say the attack on Nicholas Nwonye was a random act of violence
Friends, classmates and complete strangers have donated tens of thousands of dollars to the family of a man killed in a stabbing on a downtown Calgary C-Train platform last month.
As of Friday, the GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $88,000 of a goal of $150,000.
Nicholas Nwonye, who was married with three children including a three-month-old baby, was killed on June 2 in what police say was a random attack by a stranger.
Nwonye suffered life-threatening injuries when he was stabbed at the City Hall C-Train platform at around 6:45 p.m. and died in hospital.
Nwonye had moved to Canada only two years earlier, leaving his job as an engineer in Nigeria and enrolling in the Practical Nursing program at Bow Valley College.
While in school, he was working two jobs to support his family, including his three-month-old baby.
"A very, very calm, gentle soul"
The fundraising campaign was started by Nwonye's Bow Valley College classmates.
Nwonye was just four weeks into the nursing program but nursing instructor Rhonda Hersak said he "stood out" from the class and news of Nwonye's death "devastated" both Hersak and her students.
"[He was] just pleasant, a very, very calm, gentle soul," Hersak said
Nwonye was the only man in Hersak's class of 38 students. He was known for getting his classmates talking and stimulating discussions.
Keeton Michel Gagnon, 39, is charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death.
Gagnon has a long criminal history with police in British Columbia dating back two decades.
He's a career criminal with dozens of convictions including assault with a weapon, robbery, escaping custody, and many breaches.
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