Providence: At least two people were killed and eight others critically injured in a shooting at Brown University in Providence on Saturday, leading to a campus-wide shelter-in-place order during final exams and a large-scale manhunt for a suspect.
Police continued to search the Ivy League campus hours after the incident, with federal agents assisting local authorities.
Suspect at Large as Campus Locked Down
The shooting took place inside Brown’s engineering building on the second day of examinations, prompting an immediate police response and warnings for students, staff and nearby residents to remain indoors. Deputy Police Chief Timothy O’Hara said the suspect was described as a man dressed in black who was last seen leaving the building.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said all available resources were being deployed to locate the suspect and urged residents in surrounding neighbourhoods not to return home until authorities declared the area safe. A shelter-in-place order remained in effect well into the afternoon.
Brown University initially informed its community that a suspect had been taken into custody, but later corrected the alert, stating that police were still searching for a suspect or suspects. Smiley later clarified that a person briefly detained had no connection to the shooting.
Exams Disrupted, FBI Joins Investigation
The incident unfolded near the Barus and Holley building, a seven-storey facility housing the School of Engineering and the physics department, where engineering design exams were underway. The building contains more than 100 laboratories, classrooms and offices.
A doctoral engineering student said people in a nearby laboratory hid under desks and switched off lights after receiving emergency alerts.
Providence City Councilmember John Goncalves, whose ward includes the Brown campus, said authorities were still piecing together events and advised vigilance. He was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, “We’re still getting information about what’s going on, but we’re just telling people to lock their doors and to stay vigilant.”
US President Donald Trump said he had been briefed on the shooting and posted that the FBI was on the scene assisting the response. In a separate post, he noted that police had reversed an earlier statement and confirmed the suspect was not in custody.
Officials cautioned that details remained preliminary as investigators continued to gather information. Brown University has around 7,300 undergraduate and more than 3,000 graduate students.
