Among the people with connections to the small Oregon town where a gunman opened fire and left at least 10 people dead Thursday is a Major League Baseball player. Kansas City Royals pitcher Jeremy Guthrie spoke to reporters about his time growing up in Roseburg, Ore. before his team’s game against the Chicago White Sox.
The MLB veteran lived in Roseburg until he was 12, he said, according to ESPN. He remembers swimming at the local pool and rooting for the basketball team at Umpqua Community College, where Thursday’s shooting occurred.
Guthrie offered condolences to the people affected by the attack, calling the shooting an “unimaginable loss.” “We obviously all have the ability to go out and do harm, whether it’s with a gun or whether it’s through other forms of violence, that’s never the answer,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen too many people resort to that in recent times. All of us go through struggles; all of us have our challenges. Maybe we can show a little more love and compassion to those who are going through other things.”
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