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The Lunch With Lynch Foundation created a GoFundMe page for 20-year-old Vilte Gruzdyte after she was shot outside Cattle 'n Clover on Pacific Avenue on Tuesday, July 9. A 40-year-old Wildwood man named William Hoyle was charged with several crimes including first-degree attempted murder.
The GoFundMe page had raised more than $32,800 from at least 541 donations as of Monday, July 22.
"Vilte was an innocent bystander who was struck in the head by a stray bullet during a night out with friends," the GoFundMe page said. "She was immediately transferred to Atlantic City Medical Center, and thanks to the rapid and skillful care of medical professionals, she was brought to critical but stable condition."
Gruzdyte is in the U.S. on a student visa, working as a lifeguard at Morey's Piers and Water Parks through a summer educational exchange. According to her Facebook and LinkedIn profiles, Gruzdyte studies at ISM University of Management and Economics in Lithuania's capital of Vilnius.
Family members rushed from Europe to be with her in the hospital. They plan to stay through her recovery, traveling back and forth to also care for two younger children at home.
Her medical expenses are expected to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"Vilte has a long road ahead," the GoFundMe page said. "Doctors have indicated that she’s showing promising signs towards recovery, though with a brain injury, it is expected that she will require long-term intensive care and in-patient physical therapy throughout her rehabilitation, much of which will happen in the United States, away from her home."
Lunch With Lynch also set up a page called "Hope for Vilte" on its website and said it's inspired by her first name, which means "hope" in Lithuanian.
"During this unimaginably difficult time, we know that Vilte will draw strength from such a powerfully imbued name," the GoFundMe said.
According to jail records, Hoyle was ordered on Monday to be held without bail to await his trial. Investigators said Gruzdyte wasn't his intended target.
After the shooting, the Cape May County Regional SWAT Team executed a search warrant at a home on the 4700 block of Pacific Avenue on Wednesday, July 10. Officers found a 9mm gun and clothing that Hoyle was believed to have worn during the shooting.
David Johnson, 45, of Wildwood, was arrested at the home and charged with third-degree hindering apprehension. He was released on a summons to await a court appearance.
After the raid, Hoyle was identified as the shooting suspect and Wildwood police released his mugshot. He turned himself in at the Camden Police Department on Thursday, July 11.
Anyone with information about the shooting should call the City of Wildwood Police Department at 609-522-0222 or the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-465-1135. You can also send an anonymous tip online on the county prosecutor's office or the Cape May County Sheriff's Office websites.
You can click here to see the GoFundMe page for Vilte Gruzdyte.
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