Investigators say a person of interest taken into custody after the deadly Brown University shooting traveled from Wisconsin and had no confirmed affiliation with the campus.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A person detained in connection with a shooting at Brown University that killed two people and wounded at least nine others traveled from Wisconsin to Rhode Island and is not believed to be a student, authorities said as the investigation continued Sunday.
Law enforcement officials believe the individual journeyed from Wisconsin to carry out the attack, according to CNN sources. The person of interest was taken into custody Sunday following the shooting, which occurred during final exams on the Ivy League campus.
The attack Saturday afternoon triggered hours of lockdowns across Brown University and surrounding Providence neighborhoods as hundreds of officers searched for the suspect and urged students and staff to shelter in place. The lockdown extended into the night before being lifted early Sunday. Authorities have not yet disclosed a possible motive.
Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez said Sunday afternoon that the person in custody is in their 20s and that no charges have been filed. Perez declined to say whether the individual had any connection to Brown, noting that earlier descriptions placing the suspect in their 30s had been revised.
The person was detained at a Hampton Inn in Coventry, Rhode Island, about 20 miles southwest of Providence. Police officers and FBI agents remained at the hotel Sunday, sealing off part of a hallway with crime scene tape as they searched the area.
The shooting unfolded during one of the busiest times of the academic year, as final exams were underway. Brown canceled all remaining classes, exams, papers, and projects for the semester and told students they could leave campus, reflecting the severity of the incident.
University President Christina Paxson became emotional while describing her conversations with injured students and those still on campus.
“They are amazing and they’re supporting each other,” Paxson said at a news conference. “There’s just a lot of gratitude.”
Investigators said the gunman opened fire inside a classroom in the Barus & Holley engineering building, firing more than 40 rounds from a 9mm handgun, according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Two handguns were recovered when the person of interest was detained, along with two loaded 30-round magazines. One firearm was equipped with a laser sight, the official said.
Paxson said one of the nine wounded students had been released from the hospital. Seven others were in critical but stable condition, and one remained in critical condition.
Durham Academy, a private K–12 school in Durham, North Carolina, confirmed that a recent graduate, Kendall Turner, was critically injured. The school said her parents were with her and that the community was rallying around her and her family.
Providence officials said residents should expect an increased police presence in the coming days, and many local businesses announced they would remain closed Sunday. A scheduled 5K run was postponed for a week.
Mayor Brett Smiley invited residents to gather Sunday evening at a city park for a previously planned event to light a Christmas tree and Hanukkah menorah.
“For those who know at least bit of the Hanukkah story, it is quite clear that if we can come together as a community to shine a little bit of light tonight, there’s nothing better that we can be doing,” Smiley said.
Smiley said he visited wounded students and was struck by their resilience. One student told him that active-shooter drills practiced in high school helped during the attack.
“The resilience that these survivors showed and shared with me is frankly pretty overwhelming,” Smiley said. “We’re all saddened, scared, tired, but what they’ve been through is something different entirely.”
Investigators said they were still determining how the shooter accessed the first-floor classroom. Exterior doors to the Barus & Holley building were unlocked, but exam rooms required badge access, Smiley said.
Chemical engineering student Emma Ferraro said she was working in the lobby when she heard loud popping sounds. After realizing they were gunshots, she ran into a nearby building and sheltered there for hours.
Surveillance video released by police showed a suspect dressed in black calmly walking away from the scene.
Eva Erickson, a doctoral candidate in engineering and thermal science and a recent runner-up on the CBS reality show “Survivor,” said she had left her lab about 15 minutes before the shooting. She later shared that she was locked down in the campus gym and that the only other member of her lab present was safely evacuated.
Senior biochemistry student Alex Bruce 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, watching officers surround the building.
Brown University, the nation’s seventh-oldest college, enrolls approximately 7,300 undergraduates and more than 3,000 graduate students.
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