The killing of Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10 during an event at Utah Valley University was witnessed by thousands of people.

Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images News/Getty Images

On Sept. 10, a public lecture at Utah Valley University became the site of a nightmare when the political commentator Charlie Kirk was killed before thousands of students. Whatever one thinks of Kirk’s politics, the trauma endured by those young witnesses will last far longer than the news cycle. For adolescents, such moments do not fade when the cameras leave. They etch themselves into the brain—literally. Witnessing violence, even indirectly, negatively impacts brain development.

At the University of Southern California’s Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education ( CANDLE

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