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Hundreds attend benefit concert for victim of London convenience store assault

London police block off the Horton Variety store, as part of their investigations on Sunday Oct. 22, 2017.
London police block off the Horton Variety store, as part of their investigations on Sunday Oct. 22, 2017. Liny Lamberink / 980 CFPL

The London community rallied around a local variety store owner and his family Friday night, raising thousands of dollars at a benefit concert.

Rajae El Shorafa is recovering from a serious assault that happened at his store on Horton Street Oct. 21.

Jessie MacCabe organized Friday’s concert at Call the Office to help relieve some of the financial burdens on El Shorafa’s young family as he recovers.

“People were kind of cycling in and out, so there wasn’t a time when the bar wasn’t pretty much full. I’d say well over a few hundred [people], if not, well over that, came through over the course of the night, for sure,” said MacCabe.
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While the final numbers aren’t in just yet, MacCabe said he feels like they raised a good amount of money for the family of five.

“We’re getting close to the gofundme [goal]. I don’t know where it is now, their initial goal was $5,000, I think they’re over $10,000 now, so we’re going to have a good chunk to put towards that. Unfortunately, we don’t have the total as of yet,” he said.

As of the morning of Monday, Nov. 6, the gofundme page, set up by Shelby’s Food Express sits at just over $12,500.

MacCabe said for many it was a night of catching up with old friends, while for others it was a night filled with new experiences.

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“It was electric. I mean, given the brutality of the reason we were there, it brought everyone together in a positive light. Everyone was so happy to be there and support the cause,” he said.

MacCabe is planning to connect with El Shorafa’s family to see how he’s doing and to transfer the money over to them.

Meanwhile, London police continue to search for 22-year-old Jessie Aaron McConnell who’s wanted on a charge of aggravated assault in connection with the case.

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