"I think we're a pretty strong community," Matheson said. "I've only been here for a little over a half year now and I think that everyone in South Florida is a tight-knit community. It's tough to see something like that happen anywhere, but especially five minutes away from where I live."
The Panthers organization also paid tribute to the victims of the shooting on the television broadcast before the game and on the ice, as the arena went dark and the letters FLL appeared on the scoreboard during the moment of silence.
"We're a gathering place for the community," executive chairman Peter Luukko told the website. "In these situations it's good for people to come together, which they're doing tonight, and then go on with the game. We did feel it was important to move on, but obviously respect those who were killed in this awful incident and then pray for the safety and recovery of those that were wounded."
