Wednesday night's mass shooting at a Southern California bar hit home especially hard for a pair of professional athletes who grew up in the area.

Twelve people were killed when a gunman opened fire inside Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, a city of roughly 130,000 where Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich went to high school -- and a few minutes from where Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews lived.

"Heartbreaking whenever tragedies like this occur and especially when they are in your own hometown," Yelich tweeted Thursday afternoon. "Thousand Oaks is a tremendous community and will support those who need it the most at this time."

The likely MVP in the National League this season also made special mention of the sheriff's deputy who was killed in a shootout with the gunman.

While Yelich attended Westlake High School, Matthews played football at nearby Agoura High, about 10 minutes away.

“It’s just a shame, really. … It’s senseless. Especially for it to be so close to home, too," Matthews, who now lives in Calabasas, Calif., said Thursday.

"It’s terrible. I don’t really know what to say. Unfortunately, it’s happening more often than not. Senseless and tragic, obviously. My prayers as well as I’m sure everybody else’s go out to everyone back there in Southern California who’s dealing with this.”

Contributing: Green Bay Press-Gazette

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