On Monday, the latest in what feels like an unceasing series of violent events on school campuses took place at Ohio State University.

Nine people were injured when a man swerved his car into pedestrians and then got out of his car and started stabbing people. The attacker was shot and killed by an on-campus officer in about a minute, according to the New York Times. All of the victims are expected to survive.

In the wake of the attack, Point Park Police Chief Jeffrey Besong sent out an email refreshing students on our school’s safety procedures in case of a similar emergency. It’s a sad reality that violent attacks on college campuses happen frequently enough that it would be irresponsible to not have a plan.

However, the attack was also random. It wasn’t part of a coordinated effort to keep college students in check. It was just one lone actor, one person who lashed out.

It’s important to keep that in mind and to not live in fear. Sometimes it’s hard to accept that there’s no larger meaning behind an act of violence. Tragedies are weighty and hard and sad and personal, and the idea of randomness can seem to rob them of some of their weight.

But something can be both random and important. Just because this attack exists arbitrarily, in isolation, doesn’t mean that it wasn’t traumatic for those involved.

Acknowledging its lack of an overarching meaning or narrative takes power from the attacker, not the victims. It prevents him from taking on a larger-than-life image and protects us from living under a specter of fear. Fear is what causes violence, not what soothes it.

Safety officials at Ohio State acted swiftly and minimized the harm that the attacker could cause. In a time in which almost anyone can get an assault rifle, it’s a small comfort that only the attacker was killed, and professionals were able to do their jobs and save lives.

We don’t need to be afraid.  We have a plan. We have each other. We have a campus dedicated to our safety. That’s all we need. Don’t let fear make you think otherwise.