Rochester, N.Y. – A crowd 10,000 strong cheered first responders at a tribute before the Lancers game Sunday.
Dozens of local first responders took the field at Blue Cross Arena as part of First Responder Appreciation Day.
Among the group was Joe Hofstetter, one of the two West Webster firefighters injured in the Christmas Eve Ambush.
Hofstetter was shot in the pelvis by the gunman.
He walked out using a cane.
“My opinion is, I hope he feels the support from the firefighters … but also the entire Monroe County,” said West Webster Fire spokesperson Syed Ahmed Mustafa.
The Lancers players wore special jerseys that bore West Webster Fire Department's logo and the names of the two men who died in the ambush: Mike Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowka.
Those jerseys were auctioned off afterwards.
All told, the Lancers raised close to $25,000 for the firefighters’ families.
