Price condemns Pittsburgh shooting, expresses support for those impacted in statement

Price at his official inauguration ceremony in the fall
Price at his official inauguration ceremony in the fall

President Vincent Price sent an email to the Duke community condemning the Saturday shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue and expressing his support for those impacted.

"The terrible mass murder in Pittsburgh—a senseless and heinous attack on Jewish men, women and children in a house of worship—leaves us all horrified," he wrote in the email Sunday morning. "Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and all those who have felt the impact, particularly members of the Jewish community and those with family and friends in Pittsburgh."

The shooting—in which a man stormed the Tree of Life Synagogue when congregants were gathered in the building—killed at least 11 people and wounded at least 6 more, according to The New York Times. The gunman was reportedly shouting anti-Semitic remarks and surrendered at the scene after exchanging gunfire with the police.

He faces both federal and state charges for obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs, using a firearm to commit murder, ethnic intimidation and more. 

Price encouraged those who feel impacted by the shooting to reach out for help to counselors on campus. He also addressed the importance of coming together to find strength in diversity and fight acts of hatred.

"These abhorrent attacks, sadly so frequent in our divisive world, strain but cannot be allowed to break these bonds of community," he wrote. "Now is the time to connect ever more tightly through our common humanity, and for each of us to live it daily through empathy, compassion, understanding and mutual respect." 

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