LORAIN — It's been a somber week for many in Northeast Ohio.
Lorain Police Officer Phillip Wagner died after being ambushed and shot on the job on Wednesday afternoon.
Preparations are underway for Officer Wagner’s funeral as thousands at home and across the country pay their respects to the fallen officer.
Two other Lorain officers were injured in that ambush shooting. Officer Peter Gale was eating lunch with Wagner when they were attacked. Gale was shot in the hand and has several broken bones. Officer Brent Payne responded to the scene and was shot multiple times.
The last three days have been hard for Abbie Payne and her family as her father continues to recover from being shot.
“We’re holding up day by day, little by little but we are a strong family. My dad is a big and strong man, but it's been a lot. I know it's going to be a lot on him,” said Payne.
Over the past few days, various communities in Ohio have shown their support for the families of the three officers, reminding them that they are not alone.
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“It’s a very overwhelming amount of support coming from people we don't even know. And they are coming out to support us or sending messages and it’s been greatly appreciated,” said Payne.
She said she wanted to do something special for her dad.
“I figured I could do something little at least for my dad, something that make[s] him feel better just a little bit. I know it's a lot for him right now, but if I can support him, that’s what matters. I need him to be around for his first grandchild next year,” said Payne.
Saturday afternoon, she hosted a fundraising dinner that included raffle tickets and gift baskets. The proceeds will go towards Payne’s recovery and family.
“We are also donating some baskets and some other stuff to the two other families too, this is a very traumatic time, and we want to do all that we can,” said Payne.
However, the support didn’t stop there; across town at the 15th annual show in LaGrange, the LaGrange Firefighter Association decided to donate all the proceeds from the annual car show to the victims’ families.
“There is two family members on the Ems squad that was related to one of the officers, so it's hit close to home for our town,” said Erica Domec, owner of LaGrange IGA.
And the community showed out after hearing about their fundraising efforts.
“It's been nonstop Thursday and Friday, and we have over 75 baskets and gift cards donated since the announcement,” said Domec.
Throughout the years, most of the visitors have been local, but the fundraiser brought out people from all over.
“There are people here I have never seen before and I got a phone call that somebody was driving from Youngstown to be into the show today just because of the cause,” said Domec.
