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NORTH ATTLEBORO - A bike run, live rock 'n' roll and a cookout extravaganza attracted hundreds of music fans and friends of the Cann family Saturday as neighbors and friends mounted a fundraiser for the Cann sisters - two of whom were seriously wounded and their mother killed a year ago when Elizabeth Cann's ex-boyfriend turned a gun on the teens and their mother.

The fundraiser, which began with a motorcycle procession, was intended to collect funds to help support the girls - Danielle, Brittany and Amanda - and their family recover from the horror last year in Norton.

Danielle and Brittany both miraculously recovered from gunshot wounds to the head. Their mother, Elizabeth, and a family dog were killed. Their attacker, Robert McDermott, later committed suicide.

Sister Amanda, who was visiting in Florida at the time of the shootings, notified her father when the girls' mother failed to return her calls.

The observance, held at a barn on Huntsbridge Road, comes almost a year after the killing of Elizabeth Cann and the wounding of the two girls. Because of the closeness of the anniversary, it was not clear whether family members would put in an appearance at the event which was scheduled to run all evening. "We wanted to do this for them," said Kerri Angell, a local talent promoter and community activist who along with Michelle Bates has spearheaded fundraising events.

Angell said the "Second Annual Palooser Benefit" is intended to raise funds for Personal Best Charities, and a majority of the receipts will go to support the Cann sisters. For more information about the case or to learn how to donate, visit www.canntrust.org.

Donations can be sent to Cann Girls Trust care of Bristol County Savings Bank, 851 County St., Taunton, Ma. 02728.

RICK FOSTER can be reached at 508-236-0360 or at rfoster@thesunchronicle.com.