Providence: Providence law enforcement officials said they have taken a person of interest into custody in connection with a mass shooting at Brown University that killed two students and wounded nine others, bringing a shocking end to a chaotic weekend on the Ivy League campus.
The suspect was detained early Sunday, less than 24 hours after the December 13 attack, Providence authorities said, marking a significant development in the unfolding investigation. Police have not yet publicly identified the individual, detailed any formal charges, or confirmed whether the person of interest is the actual shooter, but officials indicated that law enforcement is not actively seeking additional suspects at this stage.
The shooting occurred late Saturday afternoon inside the Barus & Holley engineering building, where students were attending final examinations when gunfire erupted. Witnesses described scenes of terror as students and faculty scrambled for cover, sheltering under desks and behind locked doors while emergency alerts blared across campus.
Brown University issued an active shooter alert around 4:15 p.m. EST and shortly afterward imposed a shelter-in-place order that remained in effect into the night. By Sunday, the shelter directive was lifted, but a wide security perimeter remained in force as police continued to treat parts of the campus as an active crime scene.
More than 400 law enforcement personnel, including agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), were deployed to the university and surrounding neighborhoods in an intensive search for the suspected gunman. Investigators recovered shell casings at the scene as they worked to reconstruct the sequence of events leading up to and following the attack.
Authorities previously released surveillance footage showing a male figure, possibly in his 30s and dressed in black, moving through campus after the shooting, potentially wearing a mask, although that detail has not been fully verified. Police said the footage was part of the effort to identify and track the individual responsible.
Brown University President Christina Paxson described the violence as “a day one hopes never happens,” emphasizing that the vast majority of the victims were students. Local hospitals treated the injured, with some in critical but stable condition, while officials continued to monitor those hurt in the attack.
Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee pledged to see justice for the victims and reaffirmed support for law enforcement’s efforts to secure the campus and community. National leaders also reacted to the tragedy; U.S. President Donald Trump called the shooting “terrible” and said he had been briefed on the situation.
The incident adds to a troubling trend of mass shootings in the United States in 2025, a year marked by frequent gun violence incidents at schools, workplaces, and public spaces. According to compilers of national gun violence data, the Brown University shooting is among numerous mass shooting events recorded this year.
As authorities continue their inquiry, parts of the Brown campus remain under heightened security, and investigators are expected to release more details about the suspect’s identity, motive, and potential connections to the university community in the coming days.