Fundraiser raises nearly $15K for guardsman robbed while assisting hurricane victims

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Twenty-four-year-old Luis Ocampo did not get the homecoming he imagined after serving for days along the North Carolina coast as an Army National Guardsman.

While he was away helping those impacted by Hurricane Florence, he said his home back in Charlotte was robbed.

Friends and family started a GoFundMe page for Ocampo and his family with a goal of $5,000.

In one day, they were able to raise nearly $15,000, thanks to donations from nearly 400 people.

The person who started the page posted this statement Saturday.

"Your generosity and willingness to help a soldier in need is simply amazing. We are so grateful for these donations beyond belief."

Spc. Ocampo shares the home with his girlfriend, Kailey Finch, and their 1-year-old son.

Finch told Channel 9 Friday that she was shocked when she learned about the break-in.

“I don’t know how people can be so terrible," she said.

She and her son were away when the burglars broke in Thursday night.

The family believes the suspects snuck in through a back window and ransacked the place.

“If I was (to) do that to someone, I feel like I would feel really bad afterwards. I would be like, I see this family struggling and I just messed up their life even worse," said Finch.

According to officials, the thieves took a gun, a large TV, a gaming system, a laptop Ocampo uses for schoolwork and even some specialty coins and jewelry.