Bill Belichick wrote a heartfelt tribute to Capital Gazette victims

The head coach for the Patriots released a statement in regards to Thursday’s tragedy in his hometown of Annapolis.

Thursday became a tragic day after a gunman broke into the newsroom of the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland and opened fire, ultimately killing five people and injuring several others.

Hearing of the tragedy hit very close to home for Bill Belichick, the longtime head coach of the New England Patriots, who grew up in Annapolis. The Capital Gazette was the newspaper that Belichick and his family read while he was growing up.

A statement from Belichick was released on the Patriots’ social media accounts, in which he laments the tragic events that took place on Thursday.

“For my entire life, The Capital has been my hometown newspaper,” Belichick said in the statement, which the Patriots released on Friday night. “My family and I have enjoyed special relationships with many great people who have worked for the newspaper. My heart goes out to the victims, their families and the entire Annapolis community for this terrible and senseless tragedy.”

While Belichick was growing up, his father Steve Belichick was an assistant football coach at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. Bill graduated from Annapolis High School in 1970, where he played football himself.

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Since leaving Annapolis to attend Phillips Academy and later Wesleyan University, Belichick has gone on to become arguably the greatest football coach of all time, having won five Super Bowl titles as an NFL head coach and two more as an assistant. But he hasn’t forgotten his Annapolis roots, and when a senseless tragedy such as this one happens in your hometown, it hits especially hard.