Two people were killed and nine others were injured after a shooting Saturday afternoon outside the Barus and Holley building at Brown University in Providence, R.I., officials said. The suspect remained at large and was described by Deputy Police Chief Timothy O’Hara as “a male dressed in black.”
The shooting happened around 4 p.m. ET near the building that houses the School of Engineering and the Physics Department. Brown University Provost Francis Doyle said final exams were taking place in the building between about 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. when the violence occurred. Access to the building is controlled by card swipe, but Doyle said there was likely a lot of traffic because of exams.
Two victims died at the scene, Providence Fire Chief Derek Silva said. Eight wounded victims were being treated at Rhode Island Hospital, about two miles from campus; city officials described them as in critical but stable condition. A ninth injured person left the scene and did not suffer a direct gunshot wound but was hurt by a fragment; that injury was described as non-life-threatening, and it was unclear whether that person was hospitalized.
Authorities said the suspect fled on foot, exiting the Hope Street side of the building. Police released a short video of a person believed to be the shooter leaving the building; Mayor Brett Smiley said the footage does not show the suspect’s face. O’Hara said police had not received any confirmed sightings of the suspect since the shooting and that they were “utilizing every resource possible to find the suspect.”
A shelter-in-place order remained active for the university and surrounding areas; Brown advised students and staff to keep doors locked and avoid moving across campus. The university, city police and the FBI are coordinating the investigation. City and university police urged witnesses to come forward with any information.
There was earlier confusion about whether a suspect had been taken into custody. Brown officials and some media initially reported an arrest; later updates said an individual who had been detained was cleared and was not the shooter. Authorities have not released the identities of the victims or the suspect.
President Trump said he had been briefed and offered brief remarks, saying, “What a terrible thing it is. All we can do right now is pray for the victims.” Smiley said, “Sadly, today is a day that the city of Providence and the state of Rhode Island prayed would never come.”
