Brown University has placed its police chief on administrative leave following a tragic campus shooting that resulted in the deaths of two individuals and injured nine others.
Rodney Chatman, the Vice President for Public Safety and Emergency Management, was put on leave, as announced by Brown University President Christina H. Paxson on Monday. This move comes in the wake of a shooting incident on December 13, where 48-year-old Claudio Manuel Neves Valente allegedly opened fire at the university’s Barus and Holley engineering and physics building. Five of the injured remain hospitalized at Rhode Island Hospital, where they are reported to be in stable condition.
In response, former Providence Police Department Chief Hugh T. Clements has been appointed as the interim replacement for Chatman. President Paxson’s decision coincides with the Department of Education’s initiation of an investigation into the university for potential violations of the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act.
A makeshift memorial has been set up at Brown University, where visitors have gathered to pay their respects to the victims of the shooting. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
The Clery Act mandates that colleges and universities comply with specified campus safety and security requirements as a prerequisite for receiving federal student aid.
“In light of the horrific loss of two students at Brown University due to a campus shooting, the Department is launching a review to assess whether the university has fulfilled its legal obligations to maintain campus security,” stated Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
“Students deserve to feel safe at school, and every university across this nation must protect their students and be equipped with adequate resources to aid law enforcement,” she added. “The Trump Administration will fight to ensure that recipients of federal funding are vigorously protecting students’ safety and following security procedures as required under federal law.”
Paxson also announced that an “After-Action Review” will take place following the deadly mass shooting, and announced a number of campus security enhancements. The enhancements include additional security camera coverage, which will include the Barus and Holley building.
According to the most recent data available, Paxson was the second-highest paid Ivy League president in 2023, earning an estimated $3.1 million. Her total compensation has increased by over 700% since 2012, according to data compiled by the Brown Daily Herald.
“As we work to heal and recover, our primary focus is to nurture a thriving campus by attending to the psychological and social health of all members of our community while we also demonstrate that Brown is still Brown — a safe, inclusive, caring community of talented students and scholars and dedicated staff,” Paxson wrote.
During an earlier news conference, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said there were few or no cameras in the area of the building where the shooting happened.
This combo image made with photos provided by the FBI and the Providence, Rhode Island, Police Department, shows a person of interest in the shooting that occurred at Brown University, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (FBI/Providence Police Department via AP)
“So, there’s the back part of the building, the old part, and the front part, the new part,” Neronha told reporters. “The shooting occurs in the old part towards the back… and that older part of the building, there are fewer, if any, cameras in that location, I imagine, because it’s an older building.”
Additional details about the shooting have since emerged, including:
– A Brown University custodian said he saw the suspected gunman almost a dozen times beginning in November.
– Brown University retained former U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island Zachary Cunha as it prepares for possible lawsuits.
A law enforcement official walks past articles of clothing on a sidewalk near an entrance to Brown University, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, during the shooting investigation. (Steven Senne/AP Photo)
Chatman was placed on leave following a report from The Boston Globe, which spoke with the custodian, Derek Lisi, who said he saw the alleged shooter at Barus and Holley weeks before the shooting and alerted a security guard.
“I said, ‘Something’s off with this guy, so I gotta say something,’” Lisi recalled thinking when he saw the man on Dec. 1 before going on vacation. “I told my friend, ‘I hope it’s not the guy I’ve been seeing. I hope it’s not.’”
A Brown University spokesperson said it works with outside counsel on some issues.
“Brown works routinely with outside counsel whose expertise complements that of the University’s Office of the General Counsel. In this case, we retained Zachary Cunha, the former United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, to assist the University in coordinating with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies,” a Brown spokesperson said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Brown University for comment.
