Brown University shooting: Two students dead; Campus on lockdown as cops launch manhunt

Brown University shooting: More than 400 law enforcement personnel were deployed on Saturday as police searched for a suspect in a shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island that left two students dead and nine others injured, officials said. The Ivy League campus remained under lockdown for several hours as authorities continued the manhunt.
Officials said the suspect entered a university building where students were taking exams and opened fire before fleeing. Streets around the Providence campus were filled with emergency vehicles hours after the shooting, and security was increased across the city as the search continued.

Police said the suspect was still at large and had not been identified. Local officers were working with agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to search buildings and streets near the campus.


Providence Deputy Police Chief Timothy O’Hara said officials would release a video of the suspect. He described the individual as a male, possibly in his 30s, dressed in black, and possibly wearing a mask. O’Hara said shell casings were recovered from the scene but declined to provide further details.

The shooting took place inside Brown’s Barus & Holley engineering building, where doors were unlocked during examinations. Officials said the gunman escaped after opening fire on students inside the building.

“We are a week and a half away from Christmas. And two people died today,” Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said. “So please pray for those families.”

Brown University Health said seven of the nine injured victims were in critical condition.

Brown University is located on College Hill in Providence and has hundreds of academic and residential buildings. Officials said the suspect is believed to have fled along a busy street lined with restaurants and coffee shops.

“This is the day one hopes never happens, and it has,” Brown University President Christina Paxson told reporters. She confirmed that all or nearly all of the victims were students.

After the shooting, the university instructed students to shelter in place. Brown student Chiang-Heng Chien told local television station WJAR that he and three other students hid under desks in a lab for about two hours after receiving an alert about an active shooter nearby.

Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee said authorities would ensure the suspect is caught. “We’re going to make sure that we catch the individual that brought so much suffering to so many people,” he said.

Officials said the search was made more difficult by large crowds of holiday shoppers and people attending weekend events across the city. Police from surrounding towns and federal agencies assisted in the operation, and local media reported that venues increased security.

Police said they were reviewing video footage and following up on tips from the public. “Some tips have been coming in. We have been running them down,” O’Hara said. “None of them have worked out for us yet.”

President Donald Trump said he had been briefed on the shooting and called it “terrible.” “All we can do right now is pray for the victims and for those that were very badly hurt,” he said.

with inputs from agencies