Van Zandt County rallies for families after two tragedies

Good evening, I'm Casey Stegall. After two back-to-back tragedies, Texans are showing what it means to take care of their own. Tuesday night near Canton, a deputy was shot and killed and a Canton police officer wounded while serving arrest warrants. Hours later, just after midnight Wednesday, a house fire in that same community claimed the lives of a mother and four children. As Fox 4's Vanya Castillo shows us today, help came one plate at a time. Today a community is coming together to help strangers after two families in their community were hit by devastating loss in a span of a few hours. There's a lot of food being made in Van Zandt County, but the people preparing it acknowledge food alone cannot fix what happened this week. Tuesday night, Deputy Adam Al-Sharifi was shot and killed in the line of duty. He was a husband and father of three. His youngest was just born last month. A few hours later, another family was torn apart. 27-year-old Jasmine Henson and her four kids died after a fire swept through their home near Canton. Her youngest son, just a few days from turning 11. Ryan Hansen didn't know either family. You know, what if I was that family in need? You know, what if this was me, you know, being in the place of that family? I would hope that everybody would do what they could to help me. So he called on his friends, fired up the barbecue, and helped organize a fundraiser for both families. In just a matter of days, people were showing up from beyond Van Zandt County. But to see people take their time and come and donate and just show the families that, you know, they're being supported and they will be supported for much longer than just this. But I think this is a way that we can try to give back and in a way it gives us an opportunity to be with other people and ease the heartache for a little bit. Adding to the tragedy, Jasmine Henson's father is a Van Zandt County Sheriff's Office investigator. So not only is his department mourning a fallen deputy, but he's personally grieving the loss of his daughter and four grandkids. Still, he took the time to thank the man trying to help his family during this harrowing time. It's devastating to them and I know it is and I know they're hurting. We're all hurting and that's why we're here. This eases our hurt a little bit. Six people are gone and for the families left behind there are no words that can make that better but today there are people willing to help carry some of what comes next no i didn't know the families i i don't i mean myself personally i don't i don't think it matters i mean they're they're humans they're hurting deputy al sharifi's funeral will take place on wednesday in canton the public is being invited to come and pay their respects now there'll also be a police escort from the medical examiner's office to the funeral home in Canton on Monday. Vanya Castillo, Fox 4 News.