Abu Sabet: At least two people were killed on Saturday in a shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island and a suspect is still at large, according to authorities.
The university initially said that multiple people were shot and transported to local hospitals, and later confirmed at least two deaths. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley told reporters that at least eight people were in critical, but stable condition.
Brown alerted students and campus faculty of an active shooter near the Barus and Holley engineering building at 4:22 p.m. EST. Officials told reporters that final exams were underway in the building during the afternoon. They said the suspect was dressed in black and last seen leaving the building.
“This is a deeply tragic day for Brown, our families and our local community,” Brown University President Christina Paxson said in a statement.
Hours after the shooting, officers were hunting through academic buildings, backyards and porches, The Associated Press reported. The university has roughly 7,300 undergraduate students and more than 3,000 graduate students.
“The FBI is on the scene,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social while at the Army-Navy college football game, noting that he had been briefed on the situation. “God bless the victims and the families of the victims!”
The school previously said a suspect was in custody and later corrected its alert to students and staff to say the suspect has not been arrested, WCVB-TV, a Massachusetts-based news station, reported. Trump also noted the reversal after previously sharing on Truth Social that a suspect was in custody.
“We’re all thinking of and praying for the victims tonight,” Vice President Vance posted on the social platform X.
The university said in an alert released at 6:05 p.m. that the community has been informed to “shelter in place by locking doors, silence phones and stay hidden until further notice”
“This remains an active crime scene, and law enforcement continues to search for the suspect,” the university added. “The situation is ongoing, and all members of the community should continue to shelter in place.”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said in a statement that his “heart breaks for the students who were looking forward to a holiday break and instead are dealing with another horrifying mass shooting, this time in our own Providence community.”
“This is an active situation, and I echo Mayor Smiley in urging Rhode Islanders to heed only official updates from Brown University and the Providence Police,” he added. “We will get through this as a community.”
Fellow Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed (D) said in his own statement that “some families, classmates, and loved ones are gathered together in hospital waiting rooms at this very moment waiting for updates on patients.”
“We are with them in spirit,” he said. “They will need the support of all us in the days ahead.”
It has not been confirmed whether the victims are students. The FBI’s Boston field office said on X that it is assisting law enforcement in Rhode Island.
“It was honestly quite terrifying,” student Katie Sun told The Brown Daily Herald, the university newspaper. “The shots seemed like they were coming from … where the classrooms are.”
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