Amber Roof, the sister of Dylann Roof, the man accused of killing nine people in a Charleston church last month, launched an online crowdfunding campaign in order to raise money to cover the costs of her wedding and honeymoon, but took it down on Thursday after it attracted media attention and harsh feedback on the GoFundMe page, according to NBC News.
Amber Roof and her fiancé were scheduled to tie the knot on June 21, but four days earlier, her brother gunned down nine church members attending a bible study at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, according to The Washington Post.
Roof said that she and her fiancé called off the wedding "to protect our family and mourn the lives of those lost" but now they now want another chance at happiness.
"The Charleston Massacre took place and our lives were forever changed," Roof wrote on the page. "The media abused our privacy and published all of our wedding information and destroyed our dream day. Destroying the first day of Michael and my life together."
Roof set a $5000 goal on the page titled "A Fresh Start For Michael and Amber" to cover the couple's wedding and honeymoon costs. She also promised to donate 10 percent of the proceeds to the Emanuel AME church.
"We would like the chance to start our lives on a positive note," Roof wrote on her page. "Therefore, we have decided to start a Go Fund Me account. We know money cannot replace the wedding we lost and our perfect day, however it will help us to create new memories and a new start with our new family."
Several people contributed nearly $1700 towards her campaign, but the page also received some harsh comments by people shocked by her plea, the Post and Courier reported.
"This has to be the most self-centered and insensitive fundraising page I've ever encountered and I'm shocked that gofundme hasn't erased you from their existence already!" one woman wrote. "I can't imagine the anguish and sorrow that your own brother has inflicted on so many wonderful and kind people and all the while, you are fantasizing about letting others fund your honeymoon!!"
"THE NERVE OF YOU!!!" another individual posted. "If its just about getting married then go to the court house. But how dare u set up a gofundme under these circumstances."
