On Tuesday, a shooting after a Philadelphia-area high school football scrimmage left one 14-year-old boy dead and four others wounded.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts shared his reaction to this tragic event during a press conference on Wednesday.
“It’s very sad,” Hurts said, per Josh Tolentino of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Kids are doing what they love in a place where it’s supposed to be safe, where we say, ‘Go chase your dreams.’ They’re out there playing football, and they don’t make it home. It’s just very unfortunate. I’m praying for the families. I pray for change.”
Earlier this month — before this shooting — Hurts visited Penn Medicine’s trauma team to learn about caring for victims of gun violence. He highlighted his visit in a Twitter post:
“Gun violence has rippling effects across physical, social, & mental health for those impacted & beyond. I met with @PennMedicine’s Trauma Team, who are on the front lines caring for victims every day. If we all educate ourselves, we can help those affected, & bring a stop to it.”
Several other Eagles players, including A.J. Brown, Darius Slay, Lane Johnson and Brandon Graham, have offered their thoughts on the Roxborough High School shooting.
“This breaks my heart. My heart goes out to the kids involved and to the one that lost his life. We have to do better. We have to protect our children man,” Brown wrote on Twitter.
At the beginning of the year, the Eagles launched an anti-gun violence campaign called End Philly Gun Violence.
Our thoughts are with all those affected by this terrible tragedy.