San Bernardino mass shooting hits close to home for USMNT goalie Nick Rimando

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – United States men’s national team goalkeeper Nick Rimando, who grew up about 25 miles west of the scene of Wednesday’s mass shooting, told Paste BN Sports of his “devastation” at the shooting attack that left at least 14 people dead.

“My phone has not left my hand ever since I heard what was going on. Everything just stops,” Rimando said. “This is an area that is very close to my heart. It is where I’m from and where I grew up. It means even more because you worry so much for the people you know and everybody else.

“I have friends and family who are here, and I have friends in the police department who are involved in what is going on. I have a close friend who is on one of the SWAT teams right now that is involved.”

Rimando said his law enforcement friends are with the nearby Fontana Police Department.

“It is horrible to think that there are terrible people who would do this kind of thing, and you want them to be caught, but you just want the people you care about and for no one else to get hurt ,” Rimando told Paste BN.

Rimando, 36, grew up in Montclair and spent his childhood in the Inland Empire. He is the goalkeeper for Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer. He was the No. 3 goalkeeper for the U.S. at the World Cup last year.

Police have said at least 14 people were killed and 14 injured after three gunmen opened fire at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.