WASHINGTON (AP) — A Georgetown University professor has launched an online fundraising effort to help a graduate student whose mother was killed in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Mary Sherlach was a psychologist at the school. Newtown superintendent Janet Robinson says Sherlach was killed when she ran toward the shooter who ultimately killed 26 people, including 20 children.

Her daughter, Katy Sherlach, is a Ph.D. candidate in chemistry at Georgetown. Law professor Heidi Li Feldman organized an online fundraising page that's collected more than $6,000 to help Katy with funeral and other expenses.

Chemistry professor Paul Roepe tells WRC-TV (http://tinyurl.com/cwq5xpv) that Katy was with fellow researchers in the chemistry lab when she learned about the shooting. He says the community is taking the loss very hard.

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Information from: WRC-TV, http://nbcwashington.com