Brown University implements new safety measures after mass shooting

Brown University is implementing new public safety measures ahead of the Spring 2026 semester in response to the deadly mass shooting on the Providence, Rhode Island, campus earlier this month.

A gunman opened fire inside the Barus and Holley engineering building on Dec. 13, killing students Ella Cook and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov and injuring nine other people. It took days to locate a suspect,  Claudio Neves Valente — a former Brown student who was also implicated in the killing of MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts. Neves Valente was found dead at a New Hampshire storage facility.

In a letter to the school community, interim Vice President for Public Safety Hugh T. Clements Jr. laid out the plans and said several projects are being accelerated in time for the new semester. Those include:

• Transitioning from key access to card access for any buildings that still use keys
• Expanding the blue light phone system, which includes cameras, across campus
• Installing more security cameras, including in Barus and Holley where the shooting took place, pending final approvals
• Adding more panic buttons in locations to improve rapid access during emergencies
• Improving coordination between campus partners, local agencies and regional mental health resources
• Enhanced public safety training, staffing and operating systems
• More messaging surrounding crime prevention and emergency management

The school’s Department of Public Safety and Emergency Management has already increased the presence of safety and security officers at academic buildings, residential areas and events on campus and restricted building access to requiring a key, card swipe, or display of a university ID. Clements said they are further increasing security staffing, with help from mutual aid partners and private security resources.

“I want you to know this: Our goal is not to create a campus defined by fear, but one defined by preparedness, vigilance and mutual care. We are committed to maintaining a campus where every member of this community — students, faculty, staff and visitors — can learn, work and live with confidence that they are doing so in spaces that support a strong academic mission while also being secure,” Clements wrote.

Clements, a former chief of the Providence Police Department, is newly appointed to his role after Brown Police Chief Rodney Chatman was placed on leave in the wake of the shooting. The school is conducting an After-Action Review to study its safety and security surrounding the shooting and the response in the aftermath. A separate Campus Safety and Security Assessment will review security systems, policies and practices as a whole, including feedback from the community.

The U.S. Department of Education said its Office of Federal Student Aid is investigating Brown to see if the school violated requirements to meet certain campus safety and security-related requirements as a condition of receiving federal student aid.