On a winter evening in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, the quiet campus of Simon's Rock College was shattered by an act of sudden and devastating violence. It was December 14, 1992, when 18-year-old Galen Gibson, a male student at the college, lost his life. He was a sophomore, a young man with a passion for poetry and theater, whose future was tragically cut short.
The perpetrator was a fellow student, 18-year-old Wayne Lo.
Earlier that day, Lo had taken a taxi to a sporting goods store and purchased an SKS semi-automatic rifle. He had also received a package of ammunition that he had ordered by mail. That evening, believing he was on a mission from God to punish sins on campus, Lo began a shooting spree. He moved across the college grounds, firing at random. During this rampage, Galen Gibson was fatally shot as he was leaving the college library. A professor, Ñacuñán Sáez, was also killed, and four other people were wounded before Lo's attack ended and he surrendered to the police.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Wayne Lo was arrested and put on trial. He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, along with multiple counts of attempted murder and assault. For his crimes, he received two life sentences without the possibility of parole. In the years that followed, Lo expressed that at the time of the killings, he was mentally ill and believed he was hearing commands from God. He later acknowledged his actions were the result of boundless anger.
The senseless death of Galen left his family, particularly his father, Gregory Gibson, searching for answers. This search led Gregory Gibson to investigate every detail of the events that led to his son's death. He spoke with law enforcement, school officials, and even the man who sold Wayne Lo the rifle. His journey to understand the tragedy was chronicled in his book, "Gone Boy: A Father's Search for the Truth in His Son's Murder." Years later, Gregory Gibson would even meet with Wayne Lo in prison, not for forgiveness or closure, but to look him in the eye and talk. In honor of his son, Gregory Gibson and his family established The Galen Gibson Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting victims of gun violence and advocating for stricter gun laws.
