Authorities say a person of interest has been arrested following a classroom shooting at Brown University that left two people dead and nine others wounded.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Police in Rhode Island said a suspect has been taken into custody in connection with a shooting at Brown University that killed two people and wounded nine others, as investigators continued to piece together the circumstances of the attack that unfolded during final exams.
Authorities announced that a person of interest was in custody and scheduled a news conference for 7 a.m. to release additional details. The arrest came after hundreds of law enforcement officers spent hours searching Brown University’s campus and surrounding neighborhoods while reviewing surveillance footage in an effort to identify the shooter.
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The shooting occurred Saturday afternoon inside a classroom in the university’s engineering building in Providence, Rhode Island. The search for the suspect extended late into the night, long after the campus had been locked down and nearby areas cleared of foot traffic.
Police released surveillance video showing a suspect dressed in black calmly walking away from the scene. The individual’s face was not visible, and investigators said it was unclear whether the person was a student. The suspect was last seen leaving the engineering building, and witnesses told police the individual—believed to be in his 30s—may have been wearing a camouflage mask, according to Providence Police Deputy Chief Timothy O’Hara.
University President Christina Paxson said she was told that the 10 people who were shot were students. An additional person was injured by fragments from the shooting, though it was unclear whether that individual was also a student, she said.
The manhunt shut down the university and nearby neighborhoods of brick homes and downtown Providence. Streets that are typically busy on weekends were largely empty as police urged residents to remain indoors. Students were ordered to shelter in place for hours into the night.
Officers wearing tactical gear escorted some students from campus buildings to a fitness center, where they waited. Others were transported by bus, some without jackets or personal belongings.
Investigators were not immediately certain how the shooter entered the first-floor classroom. Exterior doors to the building were unlocked, but rooms used for final exams required badge access, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said. Smiley urged residents near the campus to stay inside or delay returning home until the shelter-in-place order was lifted.
“The Brown community’s heart is breaking, and Providence’s heart is breaking along with it,” Smiley said.
Authorities believe the shooter used a handgun, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.
Gov. Dan McKee said all available state resources were being deployed to locate and apprehend the suspect, noting that Rhode Island has some of the nation’s strictest gun laws.
Nine people with gunshot wounds were transported to Rhode Island Hospital. One victim was listed in critical condition, six were in intensive care but stable, and two were in stable condition, hospital spokesperson Kelly Brennan said.
Engineering design exams were underway at the time of the shooting in the Barus & Holley building, a seven-story complex housing the School of Engineering and the physics department. The building contains more than 100 laboratories, along with dozens of classrooms and offices.
Students described scenes of panic and confusion as the shooting unfolded. Emma Ferraro, a chemical engineering student, said she was working in the building’s lobby on a final project when she heard loud popping sounds from the east side.
“When I realized they were gunshots, I ran,” she said. Ferraro sheltered in a nearby building for several hours.
Eva Erickson, a doctoral candidate in engineering and thermal science who was the runner-up earlier this year on the CBS reality show Survivor, said she left her lab about 15 minutes before the shooting. She later said on social media that the only other member of her lab who had been present was safely evacuated after being locked down in the campus gym.
Alex Bruce, a senior biochemistry student, said he was working on a research project in his dorm across the street when he heard sirens.
“I’m just in here shaking,” he said, as armed officers surrounded the building.
In another nearby lab, students turned off lights and hid under desks after receiving an emergency alert, said Chiangheng Chien, a doctoral student in engineering.
Mari Camara, 20, a junior from New York City, said she rushed into a taqueria after leaving the library and remained there for more than three hours while police searched the campus.
“Everyone is shocked and terrified that something like this happened,” she said.
Brown University, the nation’s seventh-oldest college, enrolls about 7,300 undergraduates and more than 3,000 graduate students. Tuition, housing, and fees approach $100,000 per year, according to the university.
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