SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah football team and head coach Kyle Whittingham offered their support hours after three University of Virginia football players were shot and killed on campus.
In his weekly press briefing Monday, Whittingham opened by expressing his condolences to the players killed while returning from a trip Sunday night.
"Want to send our condolences from our program to Virginia. The tragic, horrific situation that they're going through, and thoughts and prayers are with them and their program and it's awful," said Whittingham.
A similar statement was shared by the team on its twitter page.
"Our hearts are broken for @UVAFootball. An absolutely unspeakable tragedy.
"Hold each other close, and please know that although there is little we can do to ease the pain you all feel, we send our love to you and the families of the three young men who have passed."
The tweet also included a broken heart emoji.
Officials placed the Charlottesville, Va. campus under shelter-in-place orders following the shootings of Lavel Davis, Devin Chandler and D'Sean Perry. The suspect, former player Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., was taken into custody on Monday.
Two others were injured in the shootings, but have not yet been identified.
Former BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall served in the same role at Virginia for six seasons before stepping down last year.
