"We are all here for you": Razorbacks HC John Calipari sends condolences to victims of Arkansas grocery store shooting

John Calipari and his wife, Ellen, extended their condolences to the victims of the shooting at the Mad Butcher grocery in Fordyce, which happened on Friday. Arkansas State Police reported that three civilians died and 11 people, including two police officers, were injured in the shootout. The suspect is also reported to have been shot.

The new Arkansas coach, in a post on X, first apologized for his delayed message as he was packing his house for his family's move to Fayetteville. He then added:

"Just now saw the news on the shooting in Fordyce. Thoughts and prayers to all the victims. I wish there was something I could say or do to bring healing. We are all here for you. Ellen and I were both shocked when we saw it. Just know you are in our thoughts and prayers."

John Calipari has long expressed his frustrations with shootings and has called for a solution to the issues of gun control. After the Marshall County school shooting in 2018, coach Calipari said (via Lexington Herald):

“We gotta come together as a country. We gotta figure out this opioid issue. We gotta figure out this gun issue — is it a gun issue or a mental health issue? What the heck is it? It is something, and we all gotta come together, man. We finally got the government up and running, thank goodness. It’s an issue now. It’s happening over and over. C’mon.

“We got issues that we gotta deal with, and we’re not going to do them fighting each other.”

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John Calipari: Full-time basketball coach and philanthropist

For as long as he has been coaching, John Calipari has been associated with charitable activities. He set up The Calipari Foundation in 2012, which raises funds for nonprofit organizations while also raising awareness about philanthropy.

“My mother taught me to pay it forward," Calipari said (via Lexington Herald). "That was her mantra, and I’ve never forgotten it. If I see someone who needs help, I know I can’t save the world. But if there is something I think we can be involved in and leverage others to be involved, I try to do it.”

John Calipari and his former team, the Kentucky Wildcats, raised over $12 million in support of various relief activities after natural disasters. Some of these include the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, 2012 Superstorm Sandy, 2017 Hurricane Harvey and 2021 tornado relief in western Kentucky and flood relief in eastern Kentucky.