UK president Eli Capilouto released a statement Tuesday addressing the deadly shooting in Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday. 

According to the statement, sent via campus-wide email, two of the five victims – Tommy Elliott and Jim Tutt – were UK alumni. Both were graduates of the university in the early 1980s.

Another victim, Deana Eckert, attended UK for a brief period as well.

Capilouto said that the community of Louisville is tight-knit, and that pride is shared by citizens of the town.

He also discussed how he saw UK similarly to Louisville in this manner. “We are bound together, no matter what year we graduated, where we work or where we live, by the shared identity of being members of this Wildcat family,” the email said.

Capilouto called for the community to come together during this difficult time. “We have a sacred responsibility to reach out, to care, to support one another,” he said.

The university has begun reaching out to the more than 4,000 students who currently attend UK and live in Louisville, Capilouto said in the email. He noted that UK has 30,000-plus alumni and staff from the Louisville area.

The university has extended access to a “Get-Help-Form” for students who may be struggling following the tragedy. The form is sent to Student Success units like the Center for Support and Intervention and the TRACS Hub.

Additional resources can be accessed through UK Student Success, which offers the numbers to support hotlines.

Employees can access mental health services and support through UK Human Resources. 

Capilouto concluded the email with a quote from the White House director of speechwriting from 2001 to 2006, Michael Gerson.

“Speechwriter and columnist Michael Gerson remarked that many ask and pray ‘for a strength they do not possess,’” Capilouto said. “But there is a promise beyond strength, the idea ‘that even when strength fails, there is perseverance. And even when perseverance fails, there is hope. And even when hope fails, there is love. And love never fails.’”