Gammadda Issues Statement of Solidarity Following Brown University Shooting

COLOMBO (News 1st): Sri Lanka's Gammadda movement has issued a statement expressing profound sadness over the tragic events unfolding at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where an active shooter situation has resulted in the loss of life and multiple injuries.

For years, Gammadda and Brown University — particularly through our collaboration with the Watson School of International and Public Affairs — have shared a remarkable partnership rooted in shared values of human dignity, inclusive development, and academic exchange, the movement said in a statement.

Many students from Brown have visited Sri Lanka over the years as part of our partnership and contributed so much to the movement and to the communities they worked with, it added.

"This relationship has enriched both our communities and stands as a testament to what global cooperation can achieve."

"At this difficult time, our hearts are especially with those directly affected — the young scholars whose promise was interrupted, and the loved ones who now face unimaginable fear and uncertainty," read the statement from Gammadda. 

“We convey our deepest solidarity with the students, faculty, staff, and families of Brown University on behalf of the Chairman and management of CMG. An attack on a place of learning is an attack on hope itself. We pray for a swift, peaceful resolution and for accountability to follow,” noted Chevaan Daniel, who sits on the Global Advisory Board at Brown University's Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Studies. 

Gammadda, in its statement, says that it will continue to monitor developments and stand with the Brown community in solidarity during the unfolding response and recovery.

CNN reports that at least two students were killed and nine people were injured when a shooter opened fire at Brown University, a private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island.

Of the injured, one was in stable condition, six were critical but stable, and another was stabilized, a Brown University Health spokesperson said tonight. The ninth victim was hurt by fragments and had injuries not believed to be life-threatening, reported NBC.

Authorities say they’re still searching for the shooter, who was described as wearing dark clothing and estimated to be in his 30s. Residents have been told to stay inside.

There are more than 400 law enforcement officers on the ground searching for the gunman who opened fire at a Brown University building today, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said.

“Every minute matters. We know every minute matters,” Smiley said at a news conference tonight.

Officials have thus far only been able to describe the shooter as a male wearing black clothing.

The shooting happened during a final exam review session in an engineering and physics building classroom.

The mass shooting at Brown University on Saturday was the first school shooting in Rhode Island since at least 2008, when CNN began its school shooting database.

There have been over 70 school shootings in the United States so far this year.