Community Corner
Bel Air Man's Brother Killed In Maine Shooting, GoFundMe Set Up For His Toddler Daughter
A Bel Air man's brother was one of the victim's in Wednesday's shooting in Maine. A GoFundMe has been set up for his 2-year-old daughter.
BEL AIR, MD — The Oct. 25 mass shooting in Maine has had a rippling effect across the country. Bel Air resident Ralph Brewer, who grew up in Lewiston, has been mourning the loss of his youngest brother, 39-year-old Peyton Brewer-Ross, who was one of the cornhole players at Schemengees Bar and Grill gunned down by shooter Robert Card.
Card’s rampage killed 18 people and injured 13 others, according to the Associated Press.
Card was a firearms instructor and Army reservist who was found dead Friday from a self-inflicted gunshot that ended an intensive two-day search.
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“It really hasn’t even sunk in,” Brewer told WBAL. “He would have been directly in front of him when the gunman entered. I don’t think he ever had a chance.”
Brewer-Ross was killed at the scene. The shooting killed 18 people and wounded 13 others, with three people still hospitalized in critical condition, authorities said.
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Brewer-Ross leaves behind a fiance, Rachael, and a 2-year-old daughter Elle. Brewer has created a GoFundMe to help support Elle and Rachael.
"Most important to Peyton was his family. He leaves behind his partner in life Rachael, and their 2-year-old daughter Elle. The loss of Peyton is devastating. Please help. All funds will go to help with funeral expenses and to assist Elle as she grows up without her father," Brewer wrote.
Brewer told WJZ that his brother was the life of the party — easygoing, funny and loved being a father.
On Monday, investigators worked to determine what led to the worst mass shooting in the state’s history amid warning signs involving mental illness and violent threats Card had made. The AP reported he underwent a mental health evaluation last summer after he began acting erratically at an Army training facility in New York, officials said. Nearly three months ago, he tried and failed to acquire a device used to quiet gunshots, according to a gun shop owner in Auburn.
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