Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo left spring training in Mesa, Ariz., for his home in Parkland, Fla., where he gave an emotional speech in the wake of the deadly shooting at his former high school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
“We’re all grieving with you. … Whatever support I can offer … you’ll have it,” Rizzo, a 2007 graduate of Stoneman Douglas, said at a candlelight vigil Thursday night. “We see this on TV too often. … We get horrified that this violence is inflicted on our kids. We get angry that there’s nothing we can do … and then we ultimately get immune and move on to something else. But then it happens in our own town … and we realize it can happen to us.
“Although I don’t have all the answers, I know that something has to change before this is visited on another community and another community and another community.”
Earlier, Rizzo tweeted: “I hope In this darkest of times back home this brings everyone together and we can find love. You’re all in my prayers”