Police launched a large scale manhunt on Saturday after a shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, killed two students and wounded nine others, forcing the Ivy League campus into lockdown.
More than 400 law enforcement officers were deployed across the area as investigators searched for a suspect who fled after opening fire inside an academic building where students were sitting exams. Officials said there was no indication of an immediate ongoing threat, but a shelter in place order remained in effect as the search continued.
The shooting occurred inside Brown’s Barus and Holley engineering building, where exterior doors had been unlocked during exams, according to police. Authorities said the suspect entered the building armed with a firearm and began shooting before escaping.
Brown University President Christina Paxson said nearly all of the victims were students. “This is the day one hopes never happens, and it has,” Paxson told reporters during a late night briefing.
Seven of the nine injured were listed in critical condition as of Saturday evening, according to Brown University Health.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said officials did not believe there was a specific ongoing threat but stressed that restrictions would remain until police completed the initial phase of the investigation. “The shelter in place allows law enforcement to do their work in the first phase of the investigation,” Smiley said.
Authorities released surveillance video showing a male suspect believed to be in his 30s, dressed in black. Providence Deputy Police Chief Timothy O’Hara said the individual may have been wearing a mask, though that detail had not been confirmed.
Shell casings were recovered from the scene, but investigators were not yet prepared to release additional forensic details, O’Hara said.
Federal agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting local and state police, officials confirmed.
As news of the shooting spread, students were ordered to shelter in place across the campus and nearby neighbourhoods. Streets surrounding College Hill filled with emergency vehicles, and security was tightened across the city.
Brown student Chiang Heng Chien told local television station WJAR that he and three others hid under desks in a laboratory for nearly two hours after receiving an alert about an active shooter nearby.
The suspect is believed to have fled along a normally busy street lined with cafes and restaurants near the campus, officials said.
Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee said authorities would pursue the suspect until they were caught. “We are going to make sure that we catch the individual that brought so much suffering to so many people,” McKee said.
Detectives are still investigating why the engineering building was targeted and whether the suspect had any connection to the university. Classes and exams were suspended as the investigation continued late into Saturday.
Africa Digital News, New York
