In the Wake of This Weekend’s Tragedies

It has been a traumatic weekend for our community. Details surrounding the death of Italian Deputy Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega are still unfolding, but two Tamalpais High School grads are connected to the senseless slaying. “We were stunned to learn that two members of our community were arrested in connection to the killing of a policeman in Rome,” said Tamalpais Union High School District board president Leslie Harlander in a written statement Sunday. “We can confirm the two arrested graduated from the school district in 2018,” said Harlander. “We can add no additional information, other than offering sincere condolences to the family and friends who lost a loved one in this tragic situation.” 

Large-scale violence occurred closer to home yesterday when a 19-year-old shooter armed carrying a semiautomatic weapon that he purchased in Nevada opened fire at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, a noted family-friendly event. Three young lives were claimed and a dozen more people were injured.

We don’t have answers and nothing we do or write will bring back the lives lost. Outside our community one man was killed and 11 others injured, when two gunmen opened fire at a Brownsville, Brooklyn block party attended by thousands on Saturday night. Other mass shooting incidents this weekend were also reported in Illinois, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, and Kansas. We’re 210 days into 2019 and there have already been 246 mass shootings.

Grief Support Resources

Here are a few resources available if you feel like you or someone you know needs help.

Services provided by the county:

https://www.marinhhs.org/if-you-are-crisis

There are also national resources:

https://afsp.org/crisis-resources/

https://better.net/philanthropy/how-to-help-fight-gun-violence/

Crisis support is also provided via text:

https://www.crisistextline.org/

Kasia Pawlowska loves words. A native of Poland, Kasia moved to the States when she was seven. The San Francisco State University creative writing graduate went on to write for publications like the San Francisco Bay Guardian and KQED Arts among others prior to joining the Marin Magazine staff. Topics Kasia has covered include travel, trends, mushroom hunting, an award-winning series on social media addiction, and loads of other random things. When she’s not busy blogging or researching and writing articles, she’s either at home writing postcards and reading or going to shows. Recently, Kasia has been trying to branch out and diversify, ie: use different emojis. Her quest for the perfect chip is a never-ending endeavor.