HARRISBURG, Pa. — Governor Tom Wolf made the following remarks on Monday evening at a vigil in York honoring those affected by the Pittsburgh shooting:
“I am so proud of all the York Countians that have gathered here tonight. I am so sad for the reason that has brought us together. Because, on Saturday morning in a quiet leafy neighborhood in Pittsburgh, a hateful man entered a synagogue and brutally and methodically murdered 11 worshippers.”
“These worshippers were murdered for no other reason than who they were, the religion they professed, and the God they worshipped.”
“It was a despicable and cowardly act of anti-Semitism that has no place in our society. It was an act that was fundamentally at odds with who we are: who we are as Pennsylvanians, who we are as Americans, and who we are as human beings.”
“So, tonight all of us here in York County mourn for the victims, we mourn for their families, we mourn for their friends, we mourn for their neighbors, we mourn for ourselves. We feel great sadness. We feel great shame as a result of what one human being did to innocent victims in that tragedy in Pittsburgh.”
“Let us, therefore, resolve that this heinous act of bigotry will not define who we are, nor will it define how we treat each other.”
“We must recognize our common humanity as we live our lives.”
“We must celebrate that common humanity while we rejoice in the distinctions that enrich our lives, enrich our communities, enrich our families.”
“The events in Pittsburgh remind us of the fragile nature of life. These events remind us that we have a responsibility to each other in guarding that fragile life. These events in Pittsburgh remind us how much we truly depend on each other.”
“The first responders, for example, who rushed in to help the victims. The friends and neighbors who reached out to help, and to all of us who mourn. The people from all over the world who reached out to offer solace and comfort.”
“But in the end, we must all face up to the ugly truth about what happened in Pittsburgh. The anti-Semitic attack in that synagogue was an attack on each and every one of us. It was an attack on our humanity, it was an attack on our values, it was an attack on who we think we are. It was an attack of our very being.”
“So, let us use that hateful attack in Pittsburgh to reaffirm our deep and abiding commitment to the simple notion of respect, and let us resolve that the evil forces that propelled that attack have no place in our lives, in our families, in our communities, in our institutions, ever.”