Authorities announced on Sunday morning that a suspect has been detained in connection with the tragic mass shooting at Brown University, which resulted in two fatalities and left nine others injured.
The suspect, described as being in their 20s, has not yet been publicly named. The arrest took place at a Hampton Inn located in Coventry, R.I., roughly 15 miles from Brown’s Providence campus, according to the FBI.
Earlier, police reported that surveillance footage showed a man, believed to be the shooter, calmly leaving the scene dressed in dark clothing.
The victims, identified as students from the Ivy League institution who were preparing for their final exams, have not been named publicly. Following the arrest, a shelter-in-place directive for Brown and nearby areas was rescinded on Sunday.
“Our community is in shock, and we face a challenging road to recovery,” stated Brown University President Christina Paxson during a press conference on Sunday. “Despite this devastation, our community is resilient and will overcome it.”
The shooting erupted around 4 p.m. on Saturday within the Barus & Holley building, home to Brown’s engineering and physics departments. School officials noted that a final exam review session was underway in the targeted classroom at the time.
Cops said the shooter fired 40 rounds from a handgun before fleeing the scene. Officers recovered two 30-round magazines but have not located the weapon, authorities said Sunday morning.
FBI agents tracked the man to the hotel using his cell phone’s geolocation data, FBI Director Kash Patel said in a social media post. They were acting on information from the Providence police department. Two handguns were recovered during the arrest, cops said.
“We all, intellectually, knew it could happen anywhere, including here, but that’s not the same as it happening in our community,” Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said Sunday morning.
Brown canceled all remaining classes, exams, assignments and projects for the fall semester, which was scheduled to end on Dec. 20. The school told students they could go home.
The shooting occurred hours before another mass shooting on the other side of the globe, in which 11 people were killed and at least 29 wounded in a terror attack on Hanukkah celebrations at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.
With News Wire Services
