More than 400 law enforcement personnel were deployed on Saturday to search for a suspect after a shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island resulted in two students dead and nine others injured. The university was placed in lockdown after a shooter entered a building where students were taking exams. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley stated that there is no ongoing threat from the suspect, but the shelter-in-place order remains in effect while the investigation is ongoing.
Emergency vehicles crowded the area as local, state, and federal agencies, including the FBI, worked together in the manhunt for the unidentified gunman. Officials released a video of a potential suspect, described as a male in his 30s dressed in black, who may have been wearing a mask. Investigators found shell casings at the shooting scene, but further details have not been disclosed yet.
The shooting occurred in a classroom in the Barus & Holley engineering building, where the outer doors were unlocked during the exams. Local police are investigating the reason for targeting that specific location. Most victims were confirmed as students, according to Brown President Christina Paxson, who expressed her heartbreak over the incident. Seven of the injured were listed as critically hurt.
As the incident unfolded, students were instructed to shelter in place, and many waited for hours. One student described hiding under a desk with others when they learned about the active shooter. Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee promised that the shooter would be brought to justice. The search was complicated by crowds of holiday shoppers and concert attendees on that busy Saturday night.
Law enforcement is reviewing video footage and requesting tips from witnesses, but no credible leads have emerged so far. President Donald Trump called the situation “terrible” and urged prayers for the victims. Mass shootings are unfortunately common in the U. S., with 389 reported incidents this year, including several at schools. One Brown student expressed feelings of anger and shock, drawing comparisons to the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, where many were killed and injured.
With information from Reuters
