Over $18,000 Raised for a Kenyan Psychiatric Nurse Stabbed at Work in the US

More than $18,000 has been raised to cover the funeral cost of June Onkundi, a Kenyan psychiatric nurse who was killed by a patient while on duty in Durham, North Carolina on October 18th.

Over $18,000 of the $100,000 target has been raised through a GoFundMe (https://gofund.me/bf249a5c) created three days ago to collect contributions to support the grieving family.

Onkundi was stabbed to death by a patient in her office at the Freedom House Recovery Center in Durham. The facility provides outpatient treatment for people struggling with mental health or addiction issues.

The Durham Police Department said officers responded to a disturbance with a weapon call just after 1:40 p.m. on Tuesday. Upon arrival, they found June had been stabbed and was taken to the hospital, where she later died from her injuries.

The suspect, 47-year-old James Gomes, was still on the scene when officers arrived and he was taken into custody. He is facing a first-degree murder charge.

WRAL News reported that Gomes has a history of violence against female health workers and had only been out of prison for four months before killing Onkundi. 

He had a history of assaulting women while working as a janitor at Durham's Merrick-Moore Elementary School in 2005. In March 2019, Gomes attacked a clinical social worker at a Duke Health facility, according to court documents. 

Onkundi, who leaves behind a husband and four children under the age of 16, moved to the US from Kenya at age 19.