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Emily KaplanESPN
The Pittsburgh Penguins have offered their support to the victims and families of Saturday’s mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue.
The Penguins foundation is donating $25,000 to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, as well as $25,000 to establish a fund with the City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety to benefit the four Pittsburgh Police officers injured in the shooting.
Eleven were killed and several others injured during the attack, which occurred at a synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
The Penguins are also hosting a blood drive at PPG Arena on Monday in response to the shooting. The team was on a Western Canada road swing when the attack occurred. Pittsburgh’s next home game is on Tuesday against the New York Islanders. At the game, the team will hold a collection for donations for the victims and families involved. There will be a moment of silence before the game. The game was supposed to be a Halloween theme night, where there would be a costume contest and “other fun Halloween-themed activities.” (The team hosts several theme nights a year). In light of the incident, the Halloween-related activities at the game have been canceled.
“The Pittsburgh Penguins join the greater Pittsburgh community in standing up against this senseless violence and supporting the victims and families of the Tree of Life Synagogue,” David Morehouse, the team’s president and CEO said in a statement. “Under these circumstances, we determined it was not appropriate to continue with our annual Halloween theme on Tuesday, so those activities have been canceled. The entire city has a heavy heart.”