LA GRANGE, Texas — Members of the La Grange community and many others gathered at the Fayette County Fairgrounds to pray for Fayette County Sheriff's Deputy Calvin "CJ" Lehmann, who was shot in the face Thursday evening.
Deputy Lehmann, a father of three, is still in the hospital, fighting to keep his vision.
His friends, family and total strangers are all praying for his recovery. On Facebook, the event was titled "Community Prayer Vigil for Our First Responders."
“It really just touches my heart that all these people are able to come out and give support for CJ, his family, his kiddos and really just our first responders in our entire community," Katie Gross, one of the organizers of the event, said.
Under one of the pavilions, people filed in, community leaders took to the podium to speak and they prayed for their first responders. They stood proudly in uniform, surrounded by their community.
"We're a very close-knit community. And that they support us law enforcement and first responders, ya know-- they got our backs," Fayette County Sheriff's Deputy Darrell Maze said.
The community is continuing to pray for Deputy Lehmann as he remains in a fight in the hospital for his vision. Organizers say the outpouring and togetherness represents the community well.
"Most importantly it's for the people who have this job everyday that serve the public that put their lives in danger," Lesley Karonicka, another event organizer, said. "We wanna make sure that they're safe."