University of Southern California women’s basketball coach Lindsey Gottlieb suffered a heartbreaking loss Saturday as her team lost 79-51 to top-ranked Union University. But after leaving the court, she spoke out on more pressing issues at her alma mater, Brown University.
“It’s a gun,” Gottlieb said as he began his postgame press conference at the Ivy League school. “It doesn’t have to be this way.”
Gottlieb said Saturday that when he returned to the locker room after a home game between the USC Trojans and the No. 1 Huskies, he received “a million text messages” from Brown’s former teammates. Two students died and nine others were injured during the final exam.
“We’re the only country that lives like this,” Gottlieb said, her voice shaking as she pointed out that she knows people who have children at Brown. “Parents don’t have to worry about their children.”
Gottlieb, a 1999 graduate of Brown University, was a member of the women’s basketball team and served as a student assistant coach during her senior season.
She said one of her former teammates was scheduled to fly to Providence on Sunday. She has a daughter who has taken refuge in the basement of the library because she “doesn’t know what’s going on there.”
Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez announced Sunday that a person of interest in his 20s is in custody. He said no charges had been filed and that “evidence is still being collected.”
On Saturday, students and faculty spent the night locked in classrooms and dorms under lockdown, while law enforcement agencies fanned out across Providence searching for the shooter.
“I pray that everyone is safe and I pray for peace for those who lost their lives,” Gottlieb said before evaluating the game against the Huskies. “That’s it. It’s more important than basketball. We can all be better.”
Brown University has canceled all remaining classes and exams for the fall semester.
“The last 24 hours have been truly unimaginable,” University President Christina Paxson wrote in an email to graduates. “This is a tragedy for which no university community was ever prepared.”
