The Gun Generation
A reflection on the tragedy at Brown University on Dec. 13th.
A photo I took on Nov. 3rd, 2025 while walking towards Brown’s campus from Providence Station.
Providence takes up the space of a secondary home in my heart. My best friend of six years attended high school in the city. I’ve visited Providence and Brown’s campus so frequently that I no longer need navigation apps when making the arduous, brutal trek up College Hill from Providence Station to the Main Green. I’ve done it in both biting cold and sweltering heat, gladly.
On Dec. 7th, I took the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail to visit a different beloved friend who is a freshman at Brown. That Sunday was another follow up on a promise already kept to visit one another whenever possible while in college. When I visited in November, he and I studied together in the Barus and Holley Engineering Building late into the night. Walking up the stairs, I remember observing lab centrifuges through glass, and watching countless students, like myself, labor over problem sets and papers. We almost went there again on Dec. 7th; however, I insisted that we go to the science library instead that time.
A recording I took on the evening of Nov. 3rd of a lab centrifuge at Barus and Holley.
Just shy of a week later, my memories of Brown’s campus and that of countless others became permanently tainted by tragedy. The following Saturday afternoon, a gunman entered Barus and Holley and slaughtered two Brown undergraduates: freshman Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and sophomore Ella Cook. He wounded nine others, including someone I went to high school with. For another acquaintance of mine at Brown, it became the second school shooting she lived through. It was the second time this semester I had texted peers of mine during an actual active shooter lockdown at their university. When discussing with my schoolmates in the aftermath of the shooting, a few others shared parallel experiences with their peers at Florida State, UMass Boston, and more.
A photo I took on Dec. 7th, 2025 while studying for a final at the Hay Library of Brown University. The strawberry matcha pictured is from Ceremony Providence. Six days later, Ceremony sheltered students in their store during the active shooter lockdown. They also are now coordinating with the FBI.
Despite what some virulent second amendment enthusiasts claim, guns in the classroom don’t prevent untimely tragedies. By the time a defensive weapon is fired, the tragedy has already concluded. If anything, it can amplify feelings of discomfort during an emergency. Students, educators, and school employees shouldn’t have to serve as soldiers. Truthfully, I know of several students who avoid studying in large, easily accessible spaces on my campus for that precise reason. Anyone with an ill intention could walk in at any time, and the life we cherish could end in mere seconds.
It is more than merely unfair. It is legalized casual cruelty.
The aftermath of sudden death is one of the most devastating tragedies of the human experience, and especially that of the young. Here, I don’t have an immediate answer to the solution of America’s gun violence. All I know is that I’m tired of watching my peers, friends, and classmates be perpetually re-traumatized, in constant agony of the threat right outside the classroom wall. However, may the victims and survivors of the Brown, Bondi Beach, and Brooklyn, New York shootings motivate us all to reflect on how we can fight to keep each other safe.
Note: Please share and/or donate to the GoFundMe for Mukhammad’s memorial service. If you are a member of the Providence community, this spreadsheet has available resources.