KINLOCH, Mo. — A fundraiser will be held Thursday for a Kinloch firefighter who was shot while dining in a St. Louis County Applebee’s.
Arlydia Bufford was having dinner with a coworker, a fire captain, after finishing up some training Monday night when the gunman shot her and two other women inside the restaurant. Kinloch Fire Chief Kevin Stewart said the fire captain was not injured in the shooting and was able to help the other victims until other first responders could arrive on the scene.
"It's been a bad dream," Stewart said, "a nightmare that we wish we could wake up from. But the reality is the senseless crime did occur, and it was senseless indeed."
Bufford suffered critical injuries. One woman died at the scene and the other was injured and is expected to survive.
The Kinloch Fire Protection District said that Bufford underwent surgeries Wednesday afternoon to repair the bullet hole in her skull and to place a shunt to drain excess fluids. Both surgeries were a success.
Bufford remains in critical, stable condition and has been responding to basic commands.
The fire district provided a statement from Bufford's mother: “She’s out of surgery, the doctor said she’s doing good and she tolerated the surgery really well. Thank you, Lord!”
The man suspected in the shooting was arrested and charged Tuesday.
The Kinloch fire department will hold a fundraiser for Bufford to help her and her family pay for medical expenses as she recovers from the shooting.
The event is scheduled for Thursday, June 25 at Ferguson Brewing Company, which is located at 418 S. Florissant Road in Ferguson.
The brewery will donate 20% of all dine in and carry out orders to Bufford. The restaurant is open Thursday from 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
At the request of the family, the fire department also set up a GoFundMe page for Bufford.
