Life After the Unthinkable: Two Students Face Gun Violence Again

Two students at Brown University know all too well the terror of a school shooting. They've lived through it before. Mia Tretta was just 16 when she was shot during the 2019 mass shooting at Saugus High School. She lost her best friend that day. The shooter, a 16-year-old boy, killed two people and injured three before taking his own life. Zoe Weissman was 12 when she witnessed the aftermath of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. She attended a nearby middle school and saw the chaos unfold. Seventeen people lost their lives that day. Neither expected to face gun violence again. But on a Saturday at Brown University, an unidentified gunman opened fire. Two students were killed, and nine others were injured. The shooter is still on the run. Tretta thought she was safe at Brown. She chose the university because it was smaller and felt secure. But the trauma of her past followed her. She avoids the library alone, fearing another attack. Weissman was in her dorm when she got a call from a friend. Students were running, and a shooting was happening. She stayed put, feeling numb, just like she did when she was 12. Both students have turned their fear into action. Weissman is an activist, calling for stricter gun laws. She was the president of March for Our Lives in Parkland when she was just 16. She believes her story can make a difference. Tretta says her life changed forever the day she was shot. She knows the students at Brown will never be the same either. Gun violence is a reality for too many young people. It's a problem that needs solving. These two students are proof that the trauma of gun violence can follow you anywhere. But they're also proof that you can turn that trauma into something positive.