LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- A call about an injured loved one is someone's worst nightmare. For David Mouton, that's exactly what happened when Lafayette Police told him his cousin, Josh Vice, had been attacked.

Mouton says his first thought was if Josh was alive, and how would he recover?

"He was picking up some groceries in the store and walking back. He gets shot by a random assailant," said Mouton.

On Nov. 30 Vice was walking home from the grocery store when he was attacked. Mouton says he got a call from police detailing what happened.

"He was shot through his left thigh and it exited through his right knee," Mouton explained. "So his right knee has been reconstructed with rods and pins. But most upsetting is that once he fell to the ground, he thought he was blinded and temporarily out it and he thought the guy ran away. So he picks up his phone to call for help, only to get pistol whipped right here, in his eye.

Mouton says the assailant stole Vice's driver's license, debit cards, and his phone.

"So I knew that financially, this was catastrophic for him," said Mouton.

Vice has undergone multiple surgeries to reconstruct his knee and attempt to save his vision. Because of this, Vice won't be able to work while he recovers. Mouton says this prompted him to reach out to the community to ask for help in finding the person who attacked his cousin.

"He feels victimized, feels that it's unfair. But he has a good attitude so far, he's just feels helpless," said Mouton.

Mouton says Vice is given eight to ten weeks to recover before he can begin relearning how to walk in rehab. He wants Vice's main focus to be on getting better and hopes sharing his story could help.

"I think the focus should be on Joshua's recovery and not so that one can walk again and have nothing to go back to," said Mouton.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help with Vice's recovery. If you would like to view the fundraiser, you can click here.

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