Congressman Harris: “This Has Been a Tragic Weekend” as Violence Targets Jewish Communities, U.S. Military, and Students

In a statement Monday, Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., expressed “absolutely heartbroken” sentiment following a series of violent attacks that targeted Jewish communities, U.S. service members, and college students over the weekend.

Harris, a Christian pastor who led First Baptist Church in North Carolina for more than a decade, described the violence as an assault not only on innocent lives but also on people of faith worldwide. “Listen, this has been a tragic weekend,” he said. “There’s just no way to look at it any other way—from looking at what happened to losing our soldiers in Syria to seeing what happened there at Brown University.”

Authorities are still searching for the suspect in the Brown University shooting—which killed two students and injured nine on Saturday—and Harris noted unanswered questions only deepen pain for grieving families. “We’re still looking for the gunman and really trying to understand the motives,” he said, highlighting uncertainty around the campus attack occurring during final exams.

According to authorities, a separate ISIS convoy attack in Syria on Saturday killed two U.S. service members and one American civilian while wounding three soldiers. Harris described the violence targeting Jewish communities in Australia as especially devastating, noting it occurred on the first night of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights. “Certainly, when we look at what happened in Australia to the Jewish community, it causes all of us to be absolutely heartbroken,” he stated.

Police reported 16 people killed and 38 injured during an attack on Bondi Beach where gunmen opened fire as individuals gathered for Hanukkah celebrations. Harris echoed President Donald Trump’s call for faith-based groups to respond publicly without fear, warning that silence empowers intimidation and terror. “It should cause all of us to be absolutely, as the president said, willing to stand up, speak up and continue to stand strong in our faith,” he added.

The Republican congressman warned against allowing fear to shape public life or religious expression, emphasizing unity’s critical role globally. “We’re just not going to let people continue to try to intimidate and try to somehow create this terror that is going on in our culture right now,” he said. Acknowledging a “fallen world,” Harris asserted faith remains a source of hope amid tragedy: “We will bring hope, we will bring peace, we will bring strength, we will bring grace in the midst of these horrific, horrific deaths.”