The club has been the standard-bearer for American figure skating for more than a century. On Thursday, it became the epicenter of tragedy.

My response was to be with people I care about and love, and I needed support,” said Nancy Kerrigan. “That’s why I’m here. It’s a shock.”

The Skating Club of Boston, which lost six community members in the D.C. plane crash, suffered a similar tragedy in 1961.