MADISON COUNTY, TEXAS — "I'm really grateful. This community has been amazing," Trooper Juan Tovar said Saturday afternoon.
A Texas State Trooper speaks on camera for the first time since he was shot following a mass workplace shooting in April.
Trooper Juan Tovar was wounded while trying to capture the man police say opened fire on co-workers at Kent Moore Cabinets in Bryan.
Trooper Juan Tovar still has a long road ahead of him, but he knows this community will be by his side every step of the way.
"I've had so many people ask me how I’m doing daily. I never expected anything like this. This community is pretty awesome," Tovar added.
On Saturday, the Madisonville community hosted a golf tournament to benefit Trooper Tovar.
"There's actually some folks out here that I don't know that I just met this morning. There are some people here from South Texas who came to play and I really appreciate them. I am glad they support us and they support law enforcement and I am glad they are out here having a good time and I thank them for that," he shared.
Trooper Tovar was wounded April 8th while trying to arrest a man police say killed one co-worker and wounded five others at Kent Moore cabinets in Bryan.
Two months later, Trooper Tovar is still trying to adjust to losing half his vision, but he has two great reasons to keep moving forward.
"I have a son. I have a wife. I have to keep moving on. It's something I gotta get used to ... something that I am not used to. It is new to me, but I have to take it one day at a time," he shared.
Clinton Carroll, a friend who helped organize the golf tournament, says news of the shooting stopped him in his tracks and jumping at the opportunity to band together and help Trooper Tovar was a no-brainier. "We are hoping this makes an impact and we believe it will," Clinton Carroll said. "You can hear that stuff on the news...But when it happens in your community... It puts it all in perspective," he added.
Trooper Tovar’s road to recovery will include many doctors appointments, including working on a tooth implant and a prosthetic eye, both reminders of something he never imagined happening here.
"You never know exactly what's going to happen... I didn't expect something like that to happen in this area," Trooper Tovar said.
Organizers expect to raise tens of thousands of dollars to help with Trooper Tovar’s recovery and he couldn’t be more grateful.
"I am grateful for the brotherhood and the family that we have. You might not know another officer, but you still support them, so I appreciate it," Trooper Tovar added.