Mural in Squirrel Hill to honor victims of Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — After the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, thousands of memorials and tributes poured in from around the world.
A new memorial by artist Kyle Holbrook is coming to Squirrel Hill to help people heal for years to come.
Holbrook, born and raised in Wilkinsburg, has hundreds of murals across the Pittsburgh area, and once he conquers Alaska he will have one in all 50 states.
Many of them tell stories about the impact gun violence has on communities.
"What I saw from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon is that the victims are younger and younger," Holbrook, the executive artist at MLK Murals, said.
Addressing gun violence through art has become part of his practice over the years and is deeply personal. Holbrook made a mural on Penn Avenue and Sawyer Way in Wilkinsburg in 2004, and on it are 18 of his childhood friends lost to gun violence.
"Between this year and the next year where I did the one just a block away, I had lost another seven friends," he said. "This has been something that has affected my life. I've been shot at just walking down the street."
His most recent work is being unveiled Wednesday in Squirrel Hill and honors the victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. The memorial will include a depiction of the synagogue, an orange stop sign — the official color for gun violence awareness — and a stop anti-Semitism banner.
"It's there for the victims and their families," Holbrook said. "But it's also there for anyone who has been a victim of gun violence and to shed more light on this epidemic and how we can come up with solutions."
The memorial unveiling is 10 a.m. on Wednesday at 5819 Phillips Ave. in Squirrel Hill.