St. Paul Episcopal Church held a prayer meeting Monday for a Selma Police Department (SPD) officer who was shot Sunday morning.

Among those attending the prayer circle were Selma City Council President Corey Bowie, councilman Carl Bowline, councilwoman Susan Youngblood, Dallas County sheriff-elect Mike Granthum and former State Rep. Yusef A. Salaam.

Father Henry Hudson, St. Paul Episcopal pastor, said the idea of the prayer circle came after a call from Youngblood. SPD officer Michael Hale was shot Sunday morning in an ambush.

“My prayer went to his family and the whole city of Selma,” Hudson said. “I prayed to God and asked to be part of the healing process.”

Bowie said prayer is a good remedy to overcome adversity.

“Prayer is always in order to heal the wounds of a community,” Bowie said. “The recent pandemic of violent acts has unified this community to pray for safety in our community and for the Selma Police and Selma Fire Departments.”

Salaam, a former city council pro-team president, recalled when the city once had a job program for youth in the city.

“I believe a lot of these guys need to be arrested,” Salaam said. “But you have to get these kids in the seventh, eighth and ninth-grades. A lot of these kids don’t want to go to college. When they graduate from high school, they want to hit the streets. If you have a systematic vocation, they’ll have something to look forward to.”