Police officer meets hospital employee who left thank-you note after Odessa shooting: 'I can not express how grateful I am'

A thank-you note, left on a police officer's squad car after the Odessa, Texas mass shooting, went viral on social media. Now the woman who wrote the message, and the officer, have met for the first time.

On Sunday, one day after the tragedy that left seven victims dead and 25 others injured, Corporal Gary Potter, a 24-year veteran of the Odessa Police Department, found flowers and a handwritten-note on his squad car.

The note read, "...I do not know you and you do not know me but I thank you for your sacrifice. You put your life on the line every day to protect our community. I can not express how grateful I am. Thank you so much." It was signed by Bria Montes.

Potter shared the note on Facebook. “Wow that is a powerful message,” he wrote. “I’m sure she doesn’t know my story but let me tell you these acts of kindness and support that I see everyday are what keep me going and remind me why the risks we take will always be worth it.”

He wrote, “...Thank you Bria Montes for this small act of appreciation, it means more to me than you can ever know...”

Montes works as a physical therapy aide at Medical Center Hospital, where shooting survivors recovered, and wanted to thank an officer.

“These officers are just selflessly going in there, trying to get all these people that are injured,” Montes told news station KOSA. “Getting all these people that are hurt and trying to stop this person as well.”

The note that she left was one Potter said he desperately needed.

On Saturday, Potter was out of town on a fishing trip with a friend from work, his granddaughters, and his youngest son when he received a call from his wife, that she and their daughter had escaped a terrifying situation.

"I could hear in her voice this was not a call I wanted to hear. She was in the car with our daughter... and was trying to keep it together for her as she told me that she was on 42nd street and that someone had just tried to shoot them and had shot a baby in the car behind them and someone else just ahead of them," Potter wrote on Facebook. "She described how the killer looked right at them pointing his rifle out the window at them and firing indiscriminately."

After finding the note, Potter knew that he had to meet Montes. On Tuesday, outside Medical Center Hospital, the two shared a hug and a heartfelt conversation.

“That [note] on my car that day just, man, I needed it,” Potter said to Montes in their meeting, as reported by KOSA. “I’d seen so much other stuff, but me and my family. My wife, my daughter appreciate it.”

Both Potter and Montes hope that their story will encourage others to thank other first responders.

“Just a thank you, a handshake, anything like that,” Potter said. “A handwritten note, it means the world. It’s more valuable than winning the lottery or something. It is very, very powerful.”

“Everyone can kind of feel encouraged to go do small stuff for officers, cause it really means a lot to them," Montes told the station.

Potter and Montes did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

• Fathers cheer on nervous boy in touching back-to-school video: ‘You got this’

• Is vitamin E oil causing vaping-related lung illnesses? New York State Dept. investigates

• Jennifer Lopez, 50, praised by professional pole dancers after she shows off moves in new video

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.