In 2019, a 16‑year‑old gunman opened fire at Saugus High School in the Santa Clarita Valley, killing two classmates and injuring 21‑year‑old Mia Tretta. Six years later, she faced a similar nightmare on the campus of Brown University in Rhode Island.
The 2019 Saugus High School Tragedy
The shooting at Saugus High School occurred in November 2019. A 16‑year‑old boy opened fire, killing 14‑year‑old Dominic Blackwell and 15‑year‑old Gracie Anne Muehlberger. Mia Tretta, then 15, was injured, and her best friend was among the two victims. The handgun used was a 45‑caliber weapon assembled from a kit, a method that would likely bypass California’s background‑check requirement for factory‑made firearms.
Mia Tretta’s Early Advocacy
After the Saugus tragedy, Tretta became a firearms‑safety advocate. She joined public‑education campaigns that highlighted the dangers of ghost guns and their proliferation. “I don’t do gun‑violence prevention work for myself,” she said. “I do it because Dominic and Gracie can’t advocate for themselves.”
Choosing Brown University
Tretta later enrolled at Brown University, drawn by its smaller enrollment of about 12,000 students and the sense of community in Providence. She believed the campus’s size would make it a safer place. “Here at Brown, I felt safer than I did elsewhere,” she explained. “It felt like, ‘Of course, it won’t happen again.’ It already did, but here we are.”
The 2025 Brown Shooting
On December 13, 2025, a gunman opened fire on the Rhode Island campus. The attack resulted in two student deaths and nine injuries. The campus lockdown lasted several hours, leaving students in a tense and frightening state. Tretta, now a junior, was among those who endured the lockdown.
Tretta’s Experience During Lockdown
During the lockdown, Tretta recounted feeling trapped and terrified. “My life has been forever altered,” she said. “I am not the same person, and I’m not the same compared to my 21‑year‑old counterparts who have never been shot in a school shooting.” She added that she has never entered a library on her own at Brown University.
Attorney General Peter Neronha’s Comments
In an interview with NBC News, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha described the Brown suspect and a separate MIT shooting as “very well planned out” and noted the shooter tried to evade law enforcement. He added that the shooter later died by suicide. The Saugus High School shooter also died by suicide.
Justice and the Suicide Factor
Tretta reflected on the similarities between the two incidents. “With the person killing themselves like what happened in Saugus, very similar experiences, despite at Saugus there was no multiple‑day manhunt,” she said. “You can’t get justice.”
Zoe Weissman: Another Brown Survivor
Tretta is one of two Brown students who have survived prior campus attacks. Zoe Weissman, 20, was in her dorm during the Brown shooting and had attended a middle school adjacent to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. That school experienced a 2018 shooting that killed 17 students.
Tretta’s Legislative Efforts
At 15, Tretta introduced President Biden before he signed federal legislation addressing ghost guns. She also introduced California Governor Newsom when he signed a state law allowing private individuals to sue those who illegally make or sell assault weapons or ghost‑gun components.
ATF Internship and Summit Organization
Tretta interned at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. During that time, she helped organize the ATF’s inaugural Gun Violence Survivors Summit, bringing survivors together to share their stories and push for policy change.
Research and Returning to Brown
While working on a research paper about surviving a school shooting, Tretta acknowledged that returning to Brown after the holidays would be difficult. Nonetheless, she expressed confidence that students and the community would unite in the face of such challenges.
Key Takeaways
- Mia Tretta survived the 2019 Saugus High School shooting and the 2025 Brown University shooting.
- She has become a vocal advocate for gun‑violence prevention, focusing on ghost‑gun legislation and public education.
- Tretta’s experiences underscore the ongoing need for safety reforms and community support for survivors.
In the wake of two devastating attacks, Mia Tretta stands as a testament to resilience and the power of survivor advocacy. Her journey from a wounded teenager to a leading voice in gun‑violence reform highlights both the personal toll of these tragedies and the collective responsibility to prevent them.
