Justin Bieber performed in Buffalo, New York, on Sunday, a city that is reeling from a mass shooting at a local supermarket. Ten people were killed in what authorities describe as a “racially motivated hate crime.”
In a clip shared on Instagram before he took the stage, Justin addressed the tragedy. “You guys probably heard what happened. Pretty horrible stuff,” he said as part of a group prayer, adding he is looking forward to “bringing joy to the city. It’s much needed.”
Justin later posted a video showing him leading the audience into a moment of silence to remember those who died in the shooting. “There’s been [a] tragedy in the city. But what we’re going to do tonight is we’re going to honor those people and I would love if we could just take a moment of silence,” he told the crowd. “That would mean a lot to me.”
He also singled out some people in the crowd in the caption, which read, “To the people who couldn’t stay silent to honor the lives that were so tragically lost, I urge you to ask yourself why?”
Justin shared another video in which he expressed, “There’s so much division in this world. So much racial injustice. You and I both know racism is evil and it is diabolical.”
He urged his fans to take a stand, adding, “We get to be the difference makers. We get to be the people who continue to have the conversations with our friends and our families and our loved ones, who continue to be allies.”
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