PITTSBURGH — Pitt’s football game against Duke on Saturday was overshadowed by the news that earlier in the day, 11 people had been killed and several more were injured in a shooting at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill.
The temple is less than two miles from Pitt’s campus, which is in the Oakland neighborhood of the city. Most of Pitt’s players and Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi’s children live in the area, and the team spent most of its morning thinking and talking about the tragedy, as well as making sure that friends and family members were accounted for.
“You see it happen in Florida, you see it happen wherever, then when it hits you right in your backyard, it makes you wonder,” Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi said.
The university announced after Pitt’s 54-45 win that the victory lights atop the Cathedral of Learning would not be lit out of deference to the victims of the tragedy.
Here are Narduzzi and Wexford native Seun Idowu’s thoughts on the tragedy:
