Brown University remained under lockdown after a campus shooting killed two students and injured nine others.
Rhode Island
More than 400 law enforcement personnel were deployed across Providence, Rhode Island, as authorities launched an extensive manhunt following a deadly shooting at Brown University that left two students dead and nine others injured. The incident occurred when an armed suspect entered an academic building during examination hours, triggering panic at the Ivy League institution and prompting an immediate lockdown.
According to officials, the suspect entered the Barus & Holley engineering building, where students were taking exams and outer doors had been unlocked. The gunman opened fire inside a classroom before fleeing the scene. Investigators are still trying to determine why the particular location was targeted, Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said during a news conference.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said that authorities do not believe there is any specific, ongoing threat to the public. However, due to the scale of the search operation and the fact that the suspect remains at large, a shelter-in-place order for the campus and surrounding neighbourhoods continues to remain in effect. The shelter-in-place allows law enforcement to do their work in the first phase of the investigation, Smiley said.
The university campus and nearby streets were flooded with emergency vehicles as security was heightened across the city. Local and state police are being assisted by federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Authorities said the suspect has not yet been identified.
Police released a surveillance video showing a male suspect, believed to be in his 30s and dressed in black. Providence Deputy Police Chief Timothy O’Hara said the individual may have been wearing a mask, though this has not been confirmed.
