A Moment of Silence

The weekend news was alarming. Two students shot and killed with 9 injured at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The shooter still at large, and while the investigation continues the nation grapples with another mass killing in the United States, at another school, as the year ends. The numbers are all over the internet, catalogued by many organizations on their websites, pointing to a challenge in our communities. A challenge that has escaped eradication over the years. Sunday’s shooting brings the total mass shootings for 2025 to 381.

The 380 mass shootings prior to Sunday’s shooting at Brown have resulted in more than 330 victims killed and about 1,740 injured. Conversations have once again turned to gun control legislation and what can be done to eliminate this type of violence from among us. And, as communities mourn friends and loved ones and come to terms with the pain of grief and loss, there is also the highlighting of a decrease in the number of mass shootings in the United States in the past years. The certainty of safety is no longer present, as schools, churches and other public places continue to be places of violence and killings. Brown joins the lists of colleges and universities in the US that experienced deadly shootings.

Since 1966, 1,728 people have been killed and 2,697 injured in mass public shootings. These statistics translate to an average of 3.4 people killed and 5.3 people injured in each mass public shooting event. The risk of becoming a victim of a mass shooting, whether being killed or injured, remains low. When individuals are impacted by mass shootings, they are more likely to be injured than killed, a trend that has continued since the mid-1980s. These facts do not change the fear and anxiety experienced by many as they go about the daily tasks of living, nor does this data begin to point to ample solutions for reducing gun violence.  The conversations are already shifting away from action and change.

The crisis in the United States was amplified by a mass shooting in Australia, its first since 1996. At Bondi Beach in Sydney, New South Wales, two gunmen killed 15 people and injured more than 40 others. The incident took place on Hannukah has devastated the Jewish community and sent the country reeling as officials labelled the shootings as an act of terrorism, one designed to harm the Jewish community.

The comparisons are being made. Officials in Australia are already turning to stricter gun control to address Sunday’s violence, pointing to stricter laws enacted in 1996 after a gunman killed 35 people. Legislative response has been quick, even as the blaming is an undercurrent during this time of distress. Is safety a possibility?

The United Nations Declaration on Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” The global community continues to struggle with the promise of security as a right with the presence of gun violence, war, and other acts of aggression that take the lives of people around the world. Attention to violence is mandatory, as is the need to reduce who has access to gun ownership and how guns are obtained. Gun violence will continue, another place of disagreement among the masses without viable solution as lines are drawn on the issue.

Brown University and Bondi Beach are approximately 10,076 miles apart. Today, the distance is reduced by tragedy, these two communities marred by violence. Solutions will not be easy. The presence of death will require time for mourning and healing along with the confrontation of hatred and fear. The cause of these deaths will be challenging to reconcile in the days ahead. Time is necessary for the change we need to see, as the names of these individuals join those of others who were killed by gun violence.

Courage is needed to enact policies that will bring the changes that will influence the societal shifts that support access to guns. After all, this is not the first time hatred and prejudice have been the fuel for a deadly rampage, nor is it the first time students have sheltered in place for their safety during a school shooting. Active shooter trainings are not enough to protect the lives of people and the safety of communities. Gun control is an act of justice; responsible gun ownership and use should accompany the right to safety.

Let us pause for a moment of silence to remember those who lost their lives to mass killings and to gun violence and for those who loved them – that joy will return to their lives one day.

“There is a time to be silent and a time to speak.”