Hi all,
We are writing to let you all know about an incident that occurred earlier today during the opening ceremony of Wikiconference North America.
The most important thing to start with is that everyone is safe and no one was hurt.
During the opening ceremony, a conference attendee entered the venue with a gun and approached the stage, announcing an apparent suicide attempt. The individual was quickly detained by conference participants and then removed from the premises by law enforcement. Investigations are underway, including internally and with law enforcement, to gather more information. We are not going to be providing more information about the individual involved while investigations are ongoing, and would ask others to not share details in this public forum.
Both of us want to extend our gratitude - to the individuals who moved so quickly during the opening ceremony to respond, and to all of the attendees for staying calm in the moment, following safety protocol, and supporting one another.
Folks here at the conference have had time together today, and plan to resume the program tomorrow with more security onsite.
Thank you to everyone who has reached out today offering support and concern. We’ll share more information when we can.
Maryana Iskander,
Wikimedia Foundation CEO
Pacita Rudder,
Wikimedia NYC Executive Director
Glad to hear everyone is safe, and to join the expressions of gratitude and admiration for Pharos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Pharos#A_barnstar_for_you! and Fuzheado https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Fuzheado#Barnstar_for_heroism, the two courageous Wikimedians who intervened!
For community members interested in more information, including about possible motivations of the individual involved, the New York Times' coverage is at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/nyregion/wikipedia-conference-gunman.html .
On Fri, Oct 17, 2025 at 2:34 PM Maryana Iskander miskander@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hi all,
We are writing to let you all know about an incident that occurred earlier today during the opening ceremony of Wikiconference North America.
The most important thing to start with is that everyone is safe and no one was hurt.
During the opening ceremony, a conference attendee entered the venue with a gun and approached the stage, announcing an apparent suicide attempt. The individual was quickly detained by conference participants and then removed from the premises by law enforcement. Investigations are underway, including internally and with law enforcement, to gather more information. We are not going to be providing more information about the individual involved while investigations are ongoing, and would ask others to not share details in this public forum.
Both of us want to extend our gratitude - to the individuals who moved so quickly during the opening ceremony to respond, and to all of the attendees for staying calm in the moment, following safety protocol, and supporting one another.
Folks here at the conference have had time together today, and plan to resume the program tomorrow with more security onsite.
Thank you to everyone who has reached out today offering support and concern. We’ll share more information when we can.
Maryana Iskander,
Wikimedia Foundation CEO
Pacita Rudder,
Wikimedia NYC Executive Director
Wikimedia-l mailing list -- wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l Public archives at https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/... To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-leave@lists.wikimedia.org
What Tileman said +1!!
On Fri, Oct 17, 2025, 6:24 PM Tilman Bayer haebwiki@gmail.com wrote:
Glad to hear everyone is safe, and to join the expressions of gratitude and admiration for Pharos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Pharos#A_barnstar_for_you! and Fuzheado https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Fuzheado#Barnstar_for_heroism, the two courageous Wikimedians who intervened!
For community members interested in more information, including about possible motivations of the individual involved, the New York Times' coverage is at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/nyregion/wikipedia-conference-gunman.html .
On Fri, Oct 17, 2025 at 2:34 PM Maryana Iskander miskander@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hi all,
We are writing to let you all know about an incident that occurred earlier today during the opening ceremony of Wikiconference North America.
The most important thing to start with is that everyone is safe and no one was hurt.
During the opening ceremony, a conference attendee entered the venue with a gun and approached the stage, announcing an apparent suicide attempt. The individual was quickly detained by conference participants and then removed from the premises by law enforcement. Investigations are underway, including internally and with law enforcement, to gather more information. We are not going to be providing more information about the individual involved while investigations are ongoing, and would ask others to not share details in this public forum.
Both of us want to extend our gratitude - to the individuals who moved so quickly during the opening ceremony to respond, and to all of the attendees for staying calm in the moment, following safety protocol, and supporting one another.
Folks here at the conference have had time together today, and plan to resume the program tomorrow with more security onsite.
Thank you to everyone who has reached out today offering support and concern. We’ll share more information when we can.
Maryana Iskander,
Wikimedia Foundation CEO
Pacita Rudder,
Wikimedia NYC Executive Director
Wikimedia-l mailing list -- wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l Public archives at https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/... To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-leave@lists.wikimedia.org
Wikimedia-l mailing list -- wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l Public archives at https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/... To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-leave@lists.wikimedia.org
For those not subscribed to the NYT, here's a gift link without the paywall:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/nyregion/wikipedia-conference-gunman.html...
On Fri, Oct 17, 2025 at 7:31 PM Pete Forsyth peteforsyth@gmail.com wrote:
What Tileman said +1!!
On Fri, Oct 17, 2025, 6:24 PM Tilman Bayer haebwiki@gmail.com wrote:
Glad to hear everyone is safe, and to join the expressions of gratitude and admiration for Pharos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Pharos#A_barnstar_for_you! and Fuzheado https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Fuzheado#Barnstar_for_heroism, the two courageous Wikimedians who intervened!
For community members interested in more information, including about possible motivations of the individual involved, the New York Times' coverage is at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/nyregion/wikipedia-conference-gunman.html .
On Fri, Oct 17, 2025 at 2:34 PM Maryana Iskander miskander@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hi all,
We are writing to let you all know about an incident that occurred earlier today during the opening ceremony of Wikiconference North America.
The most important thing to start with is that everyone is safe and no one was hurt.
During the opening ceremony, a conference attendee entered the venue with a gun and approached the stage, announcing an apparent suicide attempt. The individual was quickly detained by conference participants and then removed from the premises by law enforcement. Investigations are underway, including internally and with law enforcement, to gather more information. We are not going to be providing more information about the individual involved while investigations are ongoing, and would ask others to not share details in this public forum.
Both of us want to extend our gratitude - to the individuals who moved so quickly during the opening ceremony to respond, and to all of the attendees for staying calm in the moment, following safety protocol, and supporting one another.
Folks here at the conference have had time together today, and plan to resume the program tomorrow with more security onsite.
Thank you to everyone who has reached out today offering support and concern. We’ll share more information when we can.
Maryana Iskander,
Wikimedia Foundation CEO
Pacita Rudder,
Wikimedia NYC Executive Director
Wikimedia-l mailing list -- wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l Public archives at https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/... To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-leave@lists.wikimedia.org
Wikimedia-l mailing list -- wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l Public archives at https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/... To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-leave@lists.wikimedia.org
Wikimedia-l mailing list -- wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l Public archives at https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/... To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-leave@lists.wikimedia.org
I've got to say, after the rather astonishing statement posted today by an English Wikipedia arbitrator at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Arbitration_Committee/Noticeboard#St... , Maryana's demands that community members "not share details" about the individual now appear in a somewhat different light.
On Friday, October 17, 2025, Tilman Bayer haebwiki@gmail.com wrote:
Glad to hear everyone is safe, and to join the expressions of gratitude and admiration for Pharos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Pharos#A_barnstar_for_you! and Fuzheado https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Fuzheado#Barnstar_for_heroism, the two courageous Wikimedians who intervened!
For community members interested in more information, including about possible motivations of the individual involved, the New York Times' coverage is at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/nyregion/wikipedia-conference-gunman.html .
On Fri, Oct 17, 2025 at 2:34 PM Maryana Iskander miskander@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hi all,
We are writing to let you all know about an incident that occurred earlier today during the opening ceremony of Wikiconference North America.
The most important thing to start with is that everyone is safe and no one was hurt.
During the opening ceremony, a conference attendee entered the venue with a gun and approached the stage, announcing an apparent suicide attempt. The individual was quickly detained by conference participants and then removed from the premises by law enforcement. Investigations are underway, including internally and with law enforcement, to gather more information. We are not going to be providing more information about the individual involved while investigations are ongoing, and would ask others to not share details in this public forum.
Both of us want to extend our gratitude - to the individuals who moved so quickly during the opening ceremony to respond, and to all of the attendees for staying calm in the moment, following safety protocol, and supporting one another.
Folks here at the conference have had time together today, and plan to resume the program tomorrow with more security onsite.
Thank you to everyone who has reached out today offering support and concern. We’ll share more information when we can.
Maryana Iskander,
Wikimedia Foundation CEO
Pacita Rudder,
Wikimedia NYC Executive Director
Wikimedia-l mailing list -- wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l Public archives at https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/... To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-leave@lists.wikimedia.org
السيدة العزيزة ماريانا والأعزاء المشاركون في المؤتمر،
ببالغ الأسف تلقّينا خبر الحادث الخطير الذي وقع خلال حفل افتتاح مؤتمر ويكي كونفرنس أمريكا الشمالية. أحمد الله على أن الجميع بخير ولم يُصب أحد بأذى، وأعرب عن تضامني الكامل معكم جميعًا. أحييكم على التماسك الذي أبديتموه في في تلك اللحظات الصعية.
نتمنى أن تكون هذه الحادثة عابرة دون أثر دائم، وأن يتمكّن المؤتمر من استعادة أجوائه الإيجابية التي تجمع المشاركين حول هدفهم المشترك في خدمة المعرفة الحرة.
نحن إلى جانبكم معنويًا، ونتمنى لكم ومواصلة أعمال المؤتمر بأمان.
كل التضامن والدعم المعنوي، رشيدة رقي مجموعة ويكيميديا المغرب
Rachida Roky Professeure de l'enseignement supérieur Département de Biologie Faculté des Sciences Ain Chock Université Hassan II de Casablanca Réseau de lecture au Maroc
0661206701 - E-mail : rokyrachida@gmail.com
See me on Google Scholar https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=fr&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=roky+rachida&oq=roky+
See me on Research Gate https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rachida-Roky
La lecture est une amitié, lisons au quotidien
On Fri, Oct 17, 2025 at 10:33 PM Maryana Iskander miskander@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hi all,
We are writing to let you all know about an incident that occurred earlier today during the opening ceremony of Wikiconference North America.
The most important thing to start with is that everyone is safe and no one was hurt.
During the opening ceremony, a conference attendee entered the venue with a gun and approached the stage, announcing an apparent suicide attempt. The individual was quickly detained by conference participants and then removed from the premises by law enforcement. Investigations are underway, including internally and with law enforcement, to gather more information. We are not going to be providing more information about the individual involved while investigations are ongoing, and would ask others to not share details in this public forum.
Both of us want to extend our gratitude - to the individuals who moved so quickly during the opening ceremony to respond, and to all of the attendees for staying calm in the moment, following safety protocol, and supporting one another.
Folks here at the conference have had time together today, and plan to resume the program tomorrow with more security onsite.
Thank you to everyone who has reached out today offering support and concern. We’ll share more information when we can.
Maryana Iskander,
Wikimedia Foundation CEO
Pacita Rudder,
Wikimedia NYC Executive Director
Wikimedia-l mailing list -- wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l Public archives at https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/... To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-leave@lists.wikimedia.org
wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org