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This was supposed to be a day in which the New England Patriots thought exclusively about beating the Buffalo Bills and winning the AFC East division, but tragedy has wormed its slimy way into the picture and the franchise is not going to ignore what’s happening in the rest of the world.
A Patriots spokesman tells OutKick that the club will hold a moment of silence to recognize the “horrifying events” at Brown University on Saturday and in Bondi Beach, Australia on Sunday, before kickoff of the game against the Buffalo Bills.
Brown University Near Patriots Facilities
Brown University, in Rhode Island, is less than 30 miles from where the Patriots train and play in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It was the scene of a mass shooting in which multiple people were killed and several others were wounded in a mass shooting inside a classroom.
The Bills, who face the Patriots in today’s 1 p.m. game, were actually staying in Providence, R.I., when the mass shooting occurred.
No one in the Buffalo party was injured and the team kept everyone from their traveling party in the team hotel as a precaution.
PATRIOTS ‘HEARTBROKEN’ AS DEADLY SHOOTING OCCURS AT BROWN UNIVERSITY
Hanukkah Festival Attack Touches Patriots
The Patriots will also be recognizing Sunday’s mass shooting at a Hanukkah Festival in Bondi Beach in Australia.
Australian authorities are calling that attack “terrorism” that targeted Jews, including women and children. At least 12 people were killed and at least 28 others were hospitalized when two gunmen opened fire on the crowd from a raised position.
The shooting is the worst attack against Jews since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks in Israel.
Robert Kraft Has Spoken Out
And that is felt within the Patriots community, as club owner Robert Kraft is very public in his support of Jewish causes.
Kraft founded the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, which monitors, among other things, the steady rise of anti-semitism in the United States and around the world.
Kraft spoke exclusively to OutKick and FOXNews last month about Blue Square and also shared his concerns about the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor in New York City.
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