By Jacob Burg
A person of interest is in custody over the shooting at Rhode Island’s Brown University on Saturday that left two people dead and nine others wounded, police said on Dec. 14.
“We have detained a person of interest” in connection with yesterday’s shooting at Brown, Providence police wrote on social media. “The shelter in place has been lifted.”
The shooting occurred Saturday afternoon during final exams at the university’s engineering building. Police released surveillance video showing a person of interest dressed in black walking away from the scene. The person’s face is not visible, and authorities are not sure if the person of interest is a student.
Police said on Saturday evening they believed the suspect could be a male in his 30s. Providence Deputy Police Chief Tim O’Hara said the video showed the person “walking on Hope Street and taking a right on Waterman towards the water.”
During a press conference at 7 a.m. ET on Sunday, authorities did not identify the person of interest but said seven of the injured are in stable condition, one is recovering but still in critical condition, while the ninth was discharged from the hospital.
The university said the shelter in place order has been lifted for the entire campus, but policy activity continues in areas that are still considered an active crime scene. The school advised students that access to these areas will remain limited and that anyone leaving the Minden Hall and nearby apartments will not be able to return.
“Over the course of the next several hours, support offices across campus will also communicate as needed about updates to other operations, including how students who were escorted by evacuation sites will be connected to items they left behind,” Brown University President Christina Paxson said Sunday morning. “We are committed to providing resources for ongoing support.”
Brown Provost Francis Doyle said that “given the deeply tragic events that took place on our campus yesterday, all remaining undergraduate, graduate and medical classes, exams, and papers or projects” for the Fall 2025 semester will not proceed as scheduled.
“This choice was made out of our profound concern for all students, faculty, and staff on our campus. In the immediate aftermath of these devastating events, we recognize that learning and assessment are significantly hindered in the short term and that many students and others will wish to depart campus,” Doyle said Sunday morning. “Students are free to leave if they are able. Students who remain will have access to on-campus services and support.”
Authorities said on Sunday that they will have more information to share after collecting more evidence and conducting interviews.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley thanked the FBI on Sunday for helping local officials detain the person of interest within 24 hours of the deadly shooting.
“I will say that we could not do that without working seamlessly with our partners here,” he told reporters.
Officials said that some streets in the area will remain blocked off as police continue gathering evidence.
Smiley also reassured local residents to remain calm when seeing a heightened police presence in the Providence community as the investigation into the shooting continues.
“We know that it is a Sunday and the holiday season, and we want folks to feel safer knowing that there are people in position of authority throughout the city today who are receiving assistance from the State Police to that effect, and so we don’t want that to be alarming,” he said.
The mayor said officials will provide more details on the victims soon after communicating with their families.
The public should expect another update on the shooting later on Sunday, officials said.
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