How To Help Heroic Army Veteran Wounded By Oregon Shooter

Chris Mintz stood between the Umpqua Community College shooter and his victims in an attempt to stop the violence.

The 30-year-old Army veteran and dad was shot at least five times  on Thursday, and remains hospitalized with two broken legs and multiple injuries.

Now, people across the Internet are trying to help him as he recovers. 

An organization called Planting Peace has started an online fundraising effort to help cover Mintz's medical expenses. Members set up a Crowdrise page  which had received more than $8,500 in donations by late Friday afternoon.

"This was something we did independently after hearing Chris' story on the news and the heroic actions he took," Aaron Jackson, president of Planting Peace, told The Huffington Post in an email. 

The money will help pay for Mintz's medical bills and any additional funds will go toward his son Tyrik's education, according to the Crowdrise page.   

Mintz served in the Army for about 10 years. He successfully completed his combat deployment without any injuries , according to Business Insider. 

"We know there are many people raising money and rallying to help Chris, so whatever his needs are, we want to try to help take care of them," Jackson told HuffPost. 

Celebrities have also taken to social media to help rally support for Mintz's recovery: 

Mintz's cousin also created a GoFundMe  page to help with his hospital bills. The page notes that "Chris is not the type of person to ask" for help, but that he is going to need as much support as possible throughout his recovery process. 

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