Patrick Dempsey shared an emotional response on Instagram to the shootings in his hometown of Lewiston, Maine, that killed 18 people and injured 13 more on Wednesday.
“I am shocked, and deeply saddened by last night’s tragedy in my hometown, Lewiston, Maine,” wrote the actor, known for roles such as “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Enchanted,” in a post on Thursday.
“Maine’s great strength is it’s sense of community, and now we are being asked to come together to support everyone that has been devastated by this senseless act. My family and I are heartbroken for the victims, their families, and the community,” he continued.
Dempsey was born in Lewiston, per his official website, and grew up in the nearby towns of Turner and Buckfield, according to a biography on his fundraiser’s website.
The actor also founded the Dempsey Center, which has a location in Lewiston, in 2008 to honor his mother, Amanda, who had ovarian cancer.
The center “provides personalized and comprehensive cancer care at no cost,” according to its website, and also has a location in South Portland, Maine.
Dempsey, whose mother died in 2014, told People magazine earlier this year that his mother is the “real inspiration” behind the center as “there was nothing in the community that would be supporting her like we do.”
“This is the purpose for living, building this out and building awareness,” he said of the center during an event hosted by SurvivorNet.
The center closed both its Lewiston and South Portland locations “out of an abundance of caution” on Thursday in response to the shootings.
The actor’s comments arrive as officials continue the manhunt for Robert Card, a U.S. Army reservist who authorities named as a suspect in the shootings.
Authorities described Card as armed and dangerous while Maine State Police ordered residents to shelter in place in Lewiston, the state’s second-largest city.
The Maine killings are among 566 mass shootings in America this year, as of Friday morning according to the Gun Violence Archive. (There is no standard definition for a mass shooting, but the Gun Violence Archive defines it as a shooting in which four or more people are shot or killed, not including the shooter.) Over 35,300 people have been killed over the course of the year as a result of gun violence in the country, according to the organization’s tally.