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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh has affected people around the world.
Many people have reached out to offer support for the victims and their families.
One of those people is Tom Hanks, who has been in town filming a biopic on the iconic Mr. Fred Rogers.
He tweeted a photo of a sign last week that said, "LOVE THY NEIGHBORS, NO EXCEPTIONS," and said that was "the spirit of Pittsburgh."
Again, to me this photo is the spirit of Pittsburgh- with a broken heart today for those in Squirrel Hill ... Hanx pic.twitter.com/jeOiLGEVBc
— Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) October 27, 2018
"The Tree of Life synagogue is in Squirrel Hill. We shot at the studios of WQED, where Mr. Rogers actually shot his. And we drove past that synagogue 16 times in the course of while we were there. We always thought, 'Oh, what a great name for a synagogue,'" Hanks told "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King at an event at the 92nd Street Y in New York City.
"Fred Rogers, people would ask him questions like the great imponderables and the ironies of life, and one of the questions he was asked has always been, 'What do we do in times of great struggle or great horror?'" Hanks said. "And Mr. Rogers said as only he could, he said, 'Look to the helpers. Yes, a horrible thing has happened, but you cannot give up hope, and if you need a source of hope, look to the helpers.'"
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He pointed to people who immediately started passing out food and helping organize and taking care of needs.
"And that is, in a lot of ways, that's the extraordinary thing about -- let's just narrow down all of Western civilization to the United States of America. When that happens, earthquakes in Los Angeles or typhoons somewhere, or in the course of such bloodshed and horror is happened in Squirrel Hill -- everybody comes out and helps. And guess what? It is possible to love thy neighbor with no exceptions. We can be good at that if we choose to be," Hanks said.
Hanks' biopic on Rogers hits theaters next year.