PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A massive police operation is underway at Brown University and its surrounding areas as authorities conduct an intensive search for a gunman involved in a tragic shooting incident. The assailant opened fire in a classroom, resulting in the deaths of two individuals and injuries to nine others.
The investigation continued late into the night following the Saturday afternoon shooting in the engineering building of the esteemed Ivy League institution, coinciding with the final exam period.
Authorities released surveillance footage capturing the suspect, clad in black attire, nonchalantly exiting the scene. The individual’s face remains obscured, leaving investigators uncertain about whether the suspect is connected to the student body.
According to Deputy Chief Timothy O’Hara of the Providence Police, the suspect was last observed departing the engineering building. Witnesses reported that the individual, possibly in their 30s, might have been wearing a camouflage mask.
University President Christina Paxson confirmed that among the 10 people shot, all were students. Additionally, one person sustained injuries from shooting debris, though their status as a student remains unverified.
The ongoing search has brought the campus and its adjacent neighborhoods, known for their picturesque brick residences, to a standstill. Normally vibrant streets in Rhode Island’s capital city have fallen into a somber silence as the community reels from the shocking event.
Students sheltered in place for hours into the night. Officers in tactical gear led students out of some campus buildings and into a fitness center where they waited. Others arrived at the shelter on buses without jackets or any belongings.
Mayor advised people to stay home
Investigators were not immediately sure how the shooter got inside the first-floor classroom. Outer doors of the building were unlocked but rooms being used for final exams required badge access, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said.
He encouraged people living near the campus to stay inside or not return home until a shelter-in-place order was lifted.
“The Brown community’s heart is breaking and Providence’s heart is breaking along with it,” Smiley said.
Authorities believe the shooter used a handgun, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Democratic Gov. Dan McKee vowed that all resources were being deployed to catch the suspect. Rhode Island has some of the strictest gun laws in the U.S.
Nine people with gunshot wounds were taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where one was in critical condition. Six required intensive care but were not getting worse and two were stable, hospital spokesperson Kelly Brennan said.
Exams were underway during shooting
Engineering design exams were underway when the shooting occurred in the Barus & Holley building, a seven-story complex that houses the School of Engineering and physics department. The building includes more than 100 laboratories, dozens of classrooms and offices, according to the university’s website.
Emma Ferraro, a chemical engineering student, was in the building’s lobby working on a final project when she heard loud pops coming from the east side. Once she realized they were gunshots, she darted for the door and ran to a nearby building where she sheltered for several hours.
Former ‘Survivor’ contestant just left the building
Eva Erickson, a doctoral candidate who was the runner-up earlier this year on the CBS reality competition show “Survivor,” said she left her lab in the engineering building 15 minutes before shots rang out.
The engineering and thermal science student shared candid moments on “Survivor” as the show’s first openly autistic contestant. She was locked down in the campus gym following the shooting and shared on social media that the only other member of her lab who was present was safely evacuated.
Brown senior biochemistry student Alex Bruce was working on a final research project in his dorm directly across the street from the building when he heard sirens outside.
“I’m just in here shaking,” he said, watching through the window as armed officers surrounded his dorm.
Students hid under desks
Students in a nearby lab turned off the lights and hid under desks after receiving an alert about the shooting, said Chiangheng Chien, a doctoral student in engineering who was about a block away from the scene.
Mari Camara, 20, a junior from New York City, was coming out of the library and rushed inside a taqueria to seek shelter. She spent more than three hours there, texting friends while police searched the campus.
“Everyone is the same as me, shocked and terrified that something like this happened,” she said.
Brown, the seventh oldest higher education institution in the U.S., is one of the nation’s most prestigious colleges with roughly 7,300 undergraduates and more than 3,000 graduate students. Tuition, housing and other fees run to nearly $100,000 per year, according to the university.
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Associated Press journalists Alanna Durkin Richer, Mike Balsamo and Seung Min Kim in Washington, Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City, Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, Martha Bellisle in Seattle and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.
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