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'Everyone says it'll never be me' - Brown University student on surviving two mass shootings

December 14, 2025

A 21-year-old Brown University student named Mia Tretta experienced her second school shooting incident when an active shooter alert was issued on campus, having previously survived the 2019 Saugus High School mass shooting in California where she was shot in the stomach and her best friend was killed. Tretta had chosen to attend Brown in Rhode Island hoping distance would provide safety, but now feels fear, confusion, and anger about America's gun violence epidemic. The recent Brown incident has shattered students' sense of security on campus, with local officials acknowledging the tragic reality that active shooter drills—while helpful—shouldn't be necessary.

Who is affected

  • Mia Tretta (21-year-old Brown University student and Saugus High School shooting survivor)
  • Other Brown University students
  • Students injured in the Brown University incident (currently hospitalized)
  • Mayor Brett Smiley of Providence
  • The two students killed in the 2019 Saugus High School shooting (including Mia's best friend)
  • Other Brown students who have now lived through their second school shooting

What action is being taken

  • Police are maintaining a heavy presence around Brown University campus
  • Victims are recovering in the hospital
  • An investigation is ongoing

Why it matters

  • This incident demonstrates that gun violence in America has become an epidemic affecting every community regardless of location or prior experience with shootings. It highlights the traumatic reality that an entire generation has grown up practicing active shooter drills, which officials acknowledge are both helpful and deeply tragic. The fact that multiple students at a single university have now experienced more than one school shooting underscores how mass shootings have become disturbingly normalized as part of American life, particularly for young people.

What's next

  • No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: BBC