GASTON CO., N.C. -- Friends tell Eyewitness News an 11-year-old boy stabbed 17 times is expected to be out of the intensive care unit soon.

Police say Troy Conn was defending his grandmother against her boyfriend who was trying to steal prescription drugs. It happened late Sunday into Monday morning in Bessemer City.

Wednesday night, friends at Stanley Pentecostal Holiness Church came together in prayer. It's where Troy attends church.

They also made cards to take to Troy in the hospital. It was a way for them to express things they couldn't otherwise say.

"I'm kinda mad, and I'm kinda sad. And I really don't know what to say. I really don't. I'm speechless," said 13-year-old friend Cole Cartee.

Kenneth Owens is in custody. If convicted, he could face the death penalty for the death of Troy's grandma, Carolyn Barnette.