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  • Tipster using Reddit was key in cracking Brown University shooting case, police say

    Providence, R.I. — Information from a tipster who had a strange encounter with another man on a sidewalk outside Brown University was key to police identifying the suspect they believe killed two students at the school and then two days later gunned down a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor.

    Known only as “John” in a Providence police affidavit, the source is being hailed by investigators as the key figure who gave law enforcement the details needed to determine who was behind the Brown shooting, as well as the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who was shot in his Brookline home Monday.

    Ever since a shooter unloaded more than 40 rounds inside a Brown engineering building, anxiety and frustration has plagued the Providence, Rhode Island, community as police appeared no closer to identifying the person.

    Yet on the sixth day of the investigation, the case gathered steam, ending with police announcing late Thursday they had found the suspected gunman dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

    The tipster, John, was the reason.

    “He blew this case right open,” said Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha of the information provided by the individual that resulted in finding the gunman nearly 24 hours later.

    “When you crack it, you crack it,” he said.

    According to police, John had several encounters with 48-year-old Claudio Neves Valente before Saturday’s attack. As police posted images of a person of interest — now identified as Neves Valente — John began posting on the social media forum Reddit that he recognized the person and theorized that police should look into “possibly a rental” gray Nissan. Reddit users urged him to tell the FBI, and John said he did. 

    As police reviewed surveillance video, they saw another man “in close proximity” to the person of interest, and they posted an image of him in hopes he would come forward. That man turned out to be John.

    “We didn’t know they were the same person until John approached a Providence police officer and came into the Providence police station to give an interview. And once we had that interview, we were on the path very quickly to identifying our suspect,” Neronha said in an interview.

    The police affidavit said they learned about the tip on Dec. 16, three days after the shooting and a day after the tip line was created.

    Up until that point, the police affidavit says officials had not connected a vehicle to the possible shooter.

    That detail led them to get more video of a Nissan Sentra sedan with Florida plates and enabled Providence police officers to tap into a network of more than 70 street cameras operated around the city by surveillance company Flock Safety.

    The affidavit says John gave investigators additional critical details: He encountered Neves Valente in the bathroom of the engineering building just hours before the attack, where John noted the suspect’s clothing was “inappropriate and inadequate for the weather.”

    During his police interview, John recognized photos of the suspect’s car and then what John thought was probably the suspect from photos of him at an Alamo car rental in November, according to the affaidavit.  

    John also bumped into Neves Valente outside, mere blocks from the building, where John watched Neves Valente “suddenly” turn around from the Nissan when he saw John. What ensued was then a “game of cat and mouse,” according to John’s testimony – where the two would encounter each other and Neves Valente would run away.

    At one point, John says he yelled out “Your car is back there, why are you circling the block?”

    “The Suspect responded, ‘I don’t know you from nobody,’ then Suspect repeatedly asked, ‘Why are you harassing me?’” according to the affidavit.

    John told police he eventually saw Neves Valente approach the Nissan sedan once more and decided to walk away.

    “Respectfully, I have said all I have to say on the matter to the right people,” John wrote on Reddit Wednesday night.

    On Friday, the FBI would not reveal whether John will receive the $50,000 reward the bureau had offered for information about the Brown shooting.

    “The FBI maintains longstanding policy not to confirm the identity of individuals who assist the FBI by providing tips or information,” the bureau said in a statement to CBS News. “Additionally, the FBI will not comment on whether reward money has been paid and to whom. The FBI takes this position for privacy protection, and to ensure the public’s continued cooperation and incentivization with any future assistance. Receiving tips from the public remains one of the FBI’s best tools in preventing, detecting, and deterring crime.”

    On Thursday, Ted Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI, said it was possible when asked by reporters if John would receive the reward money.

    “It would be logical to think that, absolutely, that individual would be entitled to that,” he said.  

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  • Brown shooting suspect and MIT professor he allegedly killed were once classmates

    Thirty years ago, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente and Nuno F.G. Loureiro were classmates with bright futures. Both excelled in physics and made their way from their home country of Portugal to the U.S., settling on the campuses of prestigious East Coast universities.

    But Neves Valente’s path took a darker turn than his former peer. Investigators say the 48-year-old fatally shot two students last week at Brown University in Providence, where he was a graduate student in the early 2000s, and later killed Loureiro, who led one of the largest laboratories at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

    Authorities have offered no motive for the shootings or elaborated on what, if any, history was between the two men.

    Neves Valente was found dead Thursday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a New Hampshire storage facility, ending a search that started with last Saturday’s shooting in a Brown lecture hall, where nine other people were also wounded. Authorities believe that on Monday, two days after the Brown shooting, Neves Valente shot Loureiro at the professor’s home in the Boston suburbs, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Providence. An autopsy found Neves Valente died Tuesday.

    In high school, Neves Valente had been a promising physics student, but he was let go from Portugal’s premier engineering school, Instituto Superior Técnico, in 2000 and withdrew from a Brown University graduate program three years later without a degree.

    Before his death, he was renting a room in a home in a working class Miami neighborhood, the past two decades of his life a mystery. What he was doing for a job was unclear. One witness to the Brown shooting noted he was wearing the kinds of pants and shoes that are typical of restaurant workers.

    Claudio Manuel Neves Valente is believed to be the shooter that killed two students at Brown University and later an MIT professor at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.

    Neves Valente and Loureiro were in the same academic program in Portugal

    Neves Valente was born in Torres Novas, Portugal, about 75 miles (121 kilometers) north of Lisbon. As a high school student, he competed in a national physics competition in 1994, coming in third place, according to a Portuguese physics magazine. Five of the top finishers got to compete in an international competition the following year in Australia.

    From 1995 to 2000, he was in the same physics program in Lisbon with Loureiro, federal prosecutor Leah B. Foley said. Loureiro graduated from Instituto Superior Técnico in 2000, according to his MIT faculty page. A termination notice from the Lisbon university’s then president shows that Neves Valente was let go from a position at Instituto Superior Técnico that same year.

    Neves Valente was a graduate student at Brown

    Neves Valente came to Brown that fall as a graduate student on a student visa. Brown University President Christina Paxson said he took a leave in 2001 and formally withdrew effective July 31, 2003.

    Around that time, he posted on the Brown physics website that he was back home in Portugal and had dropped out of the program permanently, according to a webpage saved by the Internet Archive. Then in Portuguese, he added: “And the moral of the story is: The best liar is the one who manages to deceive himself. These exist everywhere, but at times they proliferate in more unexpected places.”

    During his time at Brown, he enrolled only in physics classes. Paxson said it is likely that he would have taken courses and spent time at the building where the shooting occurred because that’s where the vast majority of physics courses take place.

    Paxson said Brown found no indication of any public safety interactions or other concerns while Neves Valente was a student.

    “As of yet, we have not identified any employee who recalls Neves Valente nor is there any Brown record of recent contact between this individual and Brown,” Paxson said.

    A big break in the Brown investigation came from a tip that identified a car the suspect was driving. Flock’s AI-powered safety cameras helped locate that vehicle.

    Brown classmate says Neves Valente was ‘genuinely impressive’

    A former classmate of Neves Valente at Brown, Syracuse University professor Scott Watson, recalled being “essentially his only friend” in the graduate program in physics. Over dinners at a Portuguese restaurant near campus, Neves Valente shared his frustrations.

    “He would say the classes were too easy — honestly, for him they were. He already knew most of the material and was genuinely impressive,” Watson said.

    When Neves Valente decided to leave, Watson encouraged him to stay but to no avail. He said he never saw or heard from Neves Valente again.

    Renting a room outside Miami

    In September 2017, Neves Valente obtained legal permanent residence status in the U.S., Foley said. It was not immediately clear where he was between taking a leave of absence from the school in 2001 and getting the visa in 2017.

    His last known address was about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Miami. The yellow house with a red roof is in a working-class neighborhood that features large houses.

    Some neighbors who talked with The Associated Press on Friday said they had never seen Neves Valente. No police were in sight.

    Edward Pol, a race car mechanic who lives across the street from the home, said the owner rents some rooms to people. He said he never talked to Neves Valente but had seen him several times, most recently two or three months ago. He realized the man was the suspect when he saw his pictures on the news Friday morning.

    A man who answered the door through an intercom at the home said he was the homeowner but declined to identify himself or make any comment.

    Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, a former Brown student and Portuguese national, was found dead Thursday night at a New Hampshire storage facility from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Investigators believe he is responsible for fatally shooting two students and wounding nine other people in a Brown lecture hall last Saturday, then killing MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro two days later at his Brookline home.

    Loureiro was excelling

    While Neves Valente’s life remained a mystery, his former classmate Loureiro was excelling. Loureiro joined MIT in 2016 and was named last year to lead the school’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, one of its largest laboratories. The 47-year-old scientist from Viseu, Portugal, had been working to explain the physics behind astronomical phenomena such as solar flares.

    Portugal’s top diplomat said Friday that the government was taken aback by revelations that a Portuguese man is the main suspect.

    There are still “a lot of unknowns” in regard to motive, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said. “We don’t know why now, why Brown, why these students and why this classroom.”

    The man suspected of killing two students and wounding nine others in a shooting at Brown University before fatally shooting a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor days later was found dead Thursday in a New Hampshire storage unit, officials said.

    Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas, and Dale from Philadelphia. Associated Press journalists Gisela Salomon in Miami, Barry Hatton and Helena Alves in Portugal, Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu, Hallie Golden in Seattle and Matt O’Brien in Providence contributed.

    Kimberlee Kruesi, Maryclaire Dale, and Heather Hollingsworth | The Associated Press

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  • Brown shooting: Social media wrongly identified suspect

    A former Brown University student shot and killed two students and injured nine other people Dec. 13 at the Rhode Island school, according to authorities.

    At a late-night press briefing five days later, police identified Claudio Manuel Neves Valente as the gunman. The 48-year-old Portuguese national — who attended the school in 2000 and 2001 —  was found dead in a New Hampshire storage facility. Neves Valente is also suspected in the Dec. 15 killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, they said.

    But in the days before authorities named Neves Valente, prominent right-wing influencers and some social media users baselessly blamed a current Brown student: Mustapha Kharbouch, a Palestinian man studying international affairs and anthropology.

    An X account with the handle @0hour1 shared Kharbouch’s name and photo on Dec. 15, and posted Kharbouch’s picture alongside a police-issued photo of the shooting suspect. The posts racked up hundreds of thousands of views.

    Others latched on to Kharbouch’s name and the two photos, falsely stating that police had identified him as the shooting suspect, or that his “gait” matched the suspect’s. Many prominent accounts noticed that Brown University websites that mentioned Kharbouch seemed to have been taken down, fueling unfounded allegations against the university. It’s unclear when the pages were removed.

    End Wokeness, an X account with nearly 4 million followers, asked in a post that has been deleted, “Umm, why did @BrownUniversity just scrub its entire website of Mustapha Kharbouch (Free Palestine, LGBTQ activist)?”

    Conservative influencers Benny Johnson and Laura Loomer flagged the deleted web pages for their millions of followers and raised questions about the university’s activities. Conservative pundit Jack Posobiec claimed on X that a source told him “Providence Police are indeed looking into the student whose online presence was scrubbed today.”

    Social media users often rush to fill the void when answers are lacking after a tragedy, with many people — including elected officials — sharing unverified information. In some cases, it’s helpful; authorities said a Reddit post forwarded to a Providence Police tip line led them to Neves Valente.

    But sharing names and photos of an unverified suspect can endanger an innocent person.

    Kharbouch’s legal team said they faced questions from authorities and that the student received death threats from strangers.

    Kharbouch was the target of a “disturbing, racist and hateful campaign” to tie him to the shooting, lawyers with the advocacy groups the Clear Project and Muslim Advocates said in a statement.

    “Mustapha is a beloved and exemplary member of the Brown University community, an exceptional student, and an engaged citizen of the world,” the statement said.

    The attorneys said they responded to law enforcement inquiries about his whereabouts on the day of the shooting.

    Kharbouch, in the statement, called what he went through “an unimaginable nightmare.” He said he woke up on Dec. 16 to “unfounded, vile, Islamophobic, and anti-Palestinian accusations” and received “non-stop death threats and hate speech.”

    At a Dec. 16 news conference, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha cautioned against speculating about the shooting suspect’s identity. He didn’t mention Kharbouch by name, but alluded to rumors about the student. 

    Neronha said there are many reasons a webpage might be taken down. “If that name meant anything to this investigation, we would be out looking for that person, we will let you know we are looking for that person,” he said.

    In a press briefing after Neves Valente was found, Rhode Island State Police Supt. Darnell Weaver criticized the online activity. 

    “Criminal investigations are grounded in evidence, not speculation or online commentary,” he said at the Dec. 18 briefing. “The endless barrage of misinformation, disinformation, rumors, leaks and clickbait were not helpful in this investigation.”

    Neronha’s office and the Providence Police Department didn’t respond to PolitiFact’s questions about Kharbouch. But a press release, affidavit and arrest warrant released Dec. 19 mentioned only Neves Valente — not Kharbouch. 

    Brown University spokesperson Brian Clark said in a statement to PolitiFact that Brown had seen “harmful doxxing activity directed toward at least one member of the Brown University community.”

    The statement called the “accusations, speculation and conspiracies” about the student “irresponsible” and “in some cases dangerous.”

    “It is not unusual as a safety measure to take steps to protect an individual’s safety when this kind of activity happens, including in regard to their online presence,” the statement said.

    Brown University President Christina Paxson expressed relief that authorities found the person responsible for the killings.

    “This week has been devastating for our community in a number of ways, including the experiences that members of our community have had with being targeted by online rumors and accusations, and I hope this development also means an end to this truly troubling activity,” she said at the Dec. 18 news conference.

    Some of the prominent social media accounts later acknowledged Kharbouch wasn’t the suspect after Neves Valente’s death, but they weren’t exactly apologetic.

    “I never said it was you. I said you fit the description based on YouTube videos for tips” @0hour1posted Dec. 19 on X. “Good luck in your life.”

    Our ruling

    Social media posts claimed that Karbouch was a suspect in the Dec. 13 shooting that killed two students.

    Authorities never publicly named Karbouch as a suspect and dismissed speculation about him in a Dec. 16 press briefing. On Dec. 18, they said Claudio Manuel Neves Valente was the shooter and that they believe he acted alone.

    We rate claims that authorities identified Karbouch as a suspect in the case False.

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  • What we know about the suspect in the Brown University and MIT professor shootings, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente

    Law enforcement officials say the same gunman who opened fire at Brown University also shot and killed an MIT professor two days later. The suspect in both shootings has been identified as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente. 

    Authorities said he was found dead in New Hampshire Thursday night following an intensive manhunt. 

    Two students were killed and nine were wounded in the shooting at Brown, in Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday. Then MIT professor Nuno Loureiro was gunned down at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, on Monday.

    Investigators believe the suspect acted alone, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said.

    Here’s what we know so far about the suspect. 

    Who is the suspect in the Brown University and MIT professor shootings? 

    The suspect in the shootings was identified by authorities as 48-year-old Claudio Manuel Neves Valente. 

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts posted a photo of Neves Valente on social media late Thursday night.

    Claudio Neves Valente, suspect in the Brown University shooting in Providence, in this undated handout image released on December 18, 2025. 

    U.S. Attorney Massachusetts


    He was a Portuguese national whose last known residence was in Miami, Florida, officials said during a news conference Thursday night. 

    He studied at Brown in 2000-2001 and then moved to the U.S. in 2017 after receiving a green card through a visa lottery program, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a social media post late Thursday.

    Where was the suspect found?

    Officials said Neves Valente died by suicide at a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, where he had rented a unit. A satchel and two firearms were found with him. 

    “We are 100% confident that this is our target, and that this case is closed from a perspective of pursuing people involved,” Neronha said. 

    But so far the motive remains a mystery.

    “I don’t think we have any idea why now, or why — why Brown? Why these students? Why this classroom? That is really unknown to us. It may become clear, I hope that it does, but it hasn’t as of right now,” Neronha said.

    How was the suspect identified? 

    Security footage and hotel, rental car and storage unit records all helped in the case. And police said information from a tipster who encountered the suspect near Brown University was key to making the identification.

    Leah Foley, U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts, provided a timeline at a news conference Thursday night.

    She said the suspect stayed in a hotel room in Boston in late November, and then on Dec. 1 he rented a gray Nissan Sentra with Florida plates from a car rental agency in Boston and drove “to the vicinity” of Brown University. Providence is about an hour’s drive from Boston.

    Claudio Neves Valente, suspect in Brown University shooting

    Claudio Neves Valente, suspect in the Brown University shooting in Providence, Rhode Island, at an Alamo Rent-a-Car on Nov. 17, 2025, in this screen grab from CCTV footage released in an affidavit by the Providence Police on Dec. 18, 2025.

    Providence Police/Handout via REUTERS


    His car was “observed intermittently” between Dec. 1 and Dec. 12 in the area of Brown University, Foley said. The shooting took place on Saturday, Dec. 13, and suspect then returned to Massachusetts, where MIT professor Nuno Loureiro was shot at his home in Brookline on Monday, Dec. 15.

    A tipster known as “John” in a Providence police affidavit reported that he encountered a man near Brown resembling the person of interest. John began posting on the social media forum Reddit that police should look into “possibly a rental” grey Nissan. 

    Following up on that tip “blew this case right open,” Neronha said.

    “Investigators identified the vehicle that he had rented in Boston and drove to Rhode Island,” Foley said, and they also obtained footage of him from the rental car location. She said a financial investigation also linked him to the car and hotels.

    Claudio Neves Valente, suspect in Brown University shooting

    Claudio Neves Valente, the suspect in the Brown University shooting, picks up a vehicle at an Alamo Rent-a-Car in this screen grab from CCTV footage released in an affidavit by the Providence Police on Dec. 18, 2025. 

    Providence Police/Handout via REUTERS


    Security footage also showed the suspect within a half-mile of Loureiro’s apartment, and there was footage showing him entering “in the location of the professor’s apartment,” Foley said.  

    About an hour later, he was seen entering the storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire. 

    When he was found dead Thursday he was dressed in the same clothes that he was seen wearing right after Loureiro’s murder, Foley said. 

    “We found records, with the help of the FBI and others, that that was his storage area,” Neronha said. 

    What was the suspect’s connection to Brown University? 

    Neves Valente was enrolled at Brown University from the fall of 2000 to the spring of 2001, Brown’s president, Christina Paxson, said. He was admitted to the graduate school to study in a PhD physics program.

    Paxson said he took a leave of absence in April 2001, before formally withdrawing on July 31, 2003.

    He was only enrolled in physics classes while at the school, which were held in the same building where the shooting took place. 

    “The majority of physics classes at Brown have always been held at the Barus & Holley classrooms and labs,” Paxson said.

    What was the suspect’s connection to the MIT professor? 

    Both the suspect and MIT professor Nuno Loureiro were from Portugal.

    In a statement, the Instituto Superior Técnico in Portugal confirmed that Neves Valente had been a student at its Institute for Plasmas and Nuclear Fusion, studying for a degree in Engineering Physics between 1995 and 2000. Loureiro took the course during the same period, the institute said.

    “My understanding is that they did know each other,” Foley said.

    They were close in age — the suspect was 48 and Loureiro was 47 — and both studied physics. Loureiro went on to become a prominent scholar in the field of fusion energy research and was director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center.

    Loureiro was shot multiple times at his home Monday night and died the next day. 

    The Associated Press and

    Faris Tanyos

    contributed to this report.

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  • 12/18: CBS Evening News


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    Greg Biffle killed in plane crash; Maurice DuBois and John Dickerson sign off from the “CBS Evening News.”

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  • Live updates: New developments overnight in Brown, MIT professor shootings

    What to Know

    • Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, a former Brown student and Portuguese national, was found dead Thursday night at a New Hampshire storage facility from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
    • Authorities said Valente was not only the man wanted in connection with last weekend’s deadly mass shooting on the Brown University campus, but he also was suspected of killing MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro in Brookline, Massachusetts, on Monday.
    • Valente was a former Brown student and Portuguese national who attended university with Loureiro. Investigators said they believe he acted alone.

    A frantic search for the suspect in last weekend’s mass shooting at Brown University ended at a New Hampshire storage facility where authorities discovered the man dead inside and then revealed he also was suspected of killing a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor.

    Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, a former Brown student and Portuguese national, was found dead Thursday night from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, said Col. Oscar Perez, the Providence police chief.

    Investigators believe he is responsible for fatally shooting two students and wounding nine other people in a Brown lecture hall last Saturday, then killing MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro two days later at his home in the Boston suburbs, nearly 50 miles from Providence. Perez said as far as investigators know, Neves Valente acted alone.

    Brown University President Christina Paxson said Neves Valente was enrolled there as a graduate student studying physics from the fall of 2000 to the spring of 2001.

    Here’s a look at the latest developments in the case:

    Staff and wire reports

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  • Brown University shooter also killed MIT professor, U.S. attorney says

    The gunman behind the shooting at Brown University also killed an MIT professor on Monday, according to Leah Foley, U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts. See Foley’s full remarks from Thursday night.

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  • Authorities examine possible connection between Brown shooting, MIT professor’s slaying

    Police have identified a person they believe is connected to the mass shooting at Brown University and the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor in Brookline, Massachusetts, earlier this week, sources tell Boston sister station WCVB.Multiple media outlets, including CNN, ABC News, and CBS News, have reported that a search warrant for an individual has been signed and that investigators are actively seeking that person. The Associated Press and the New York Times also report that police are actively seeking an individual.No name has been released. Hundreds of investigators are involved in the region-wide search for the person. Sources tell WCVB the search for the suspect now includes New Hampshire.Related video below: Former FBI Assistant Director details agencies’ work in identifying person of interest in MIT professor, Brown shootingsNuno F.G. Loureiro, 47, was shot Monday night at his home on Gibbs Street at about 9 p.m. He was taken to an area hospital with apparent gunshot wounds and died the next morning, according to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office.Loureiro was an MIT faculty member in the departments of Nuclear Science & Engineering and Physics, as well as the Director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center. On Saturday, two Brown University students were killed and nine others were wounded when a gunman opened fire in the Barus & Holley engineering building, where exams were scheduled. “We don’t know the motive of either one of these shootings, but from an investigative standpoint, what could possibly match? Shell casings from the scene, he left those at MIT, it could also be from surveillance cameras in and around the professor’s house or on the campus,” former FBI agent Brad Garrett said.The two students killed in the shooting shooting at Brown were identified as Ella Cook, a Birmingham, Alabama, native and leader of the College Republicans at Brown, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, a freshman who was studying to become a doctor. The gunman in both slayings remains unidentified and at large. In the days since the Brown shooting, investigators have released a series of images from area security cameras of a person of interest. They describe the person as wearing a two-tone coat and about 5 feet 8 inches tall. In all the images, however, the person’s face is partially covered by a mask and hair is covered by a winter hat. The person spent hours in the neighborhood around the university on Saturday.Video below: Former Rhode Island AG on FBI investigation into Brown, MIT shootingsIn Brookline, Loureiro’s neighbors reported hearing multiple gunshots Monday night. “We heard a really loud noise. I thought it sounded like a crashing noise, but my husband heard it, and he said it sounded like gunshots,” neighbor Anne Greenwald said.No images of a suspected gunman or vehicle in that case have been released to the public. Loureiro, who grew up in Portugal and joined MIT in 2016, was named last year to lead MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, where he aimed to advance clean energy technology and other research. Brookline is about 50 miles north of Providence.Anyone with information about the case is asked to submit tips to investigators through the FBI’s website or by calling 401-272-3121. A reward of up to $50,000 is offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

    BROOKLINE, Mass. —

    Police have identified a person they believe is connected to the mass shooting at Brown University and the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor in Brookline, Massachusetts, earlier this week, sources tell Boston sister station WCVB.

    Multiple media outlets, including CNN, ABC News, and CBS News, have reported that a search warrant for an individual has been signed and that investigators are actively seeking that person. The Associated Press and the New York Times also report that police are actively seeking an individual.

    No name has been released. Hundreds of investigators are involved in the region-wide search for the person. Sources tell WCVB the search for the suspect now includes New Hampshire.

    Related video below: Former FBI Assistant Director details agencies’ work in identifying person of interest in MIT professor, Brown shootings

    Nuno F.G. Loureiro, 47, was shot Monday night at his home on Gibbs Street at about 9 p.m. He was taken to an area hospital with apparent gunshot wounds and died the next morning, according to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office.

    Loureiro was an MIT faculty member in the departments of Nuclear Science & Engineering and Physics, as well as the Director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center.

    On Saturday, two Brown University students were killed and nine others were wounded when a gunman opened fire in the Barus & Holley engineering building, where exams were scheduled.

    “We don’t know the motive of either one of these shootings, but from an investigative standpoint, what could possibly match? Shell casings from the scene, he left those at MIT, it could also be from surveillance cameras in and around the professor’s house or on the campus,” former FBI agent Brad Garrett said.

    The two students killed in the shooting shooting at Brown were identified as Ella Cook, a Birmingham, Alabama, native and leader of the College Republicans at Brown, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, a freshman who was studying to become a doctor.

    The gunman in both slayings remains unidentified and at large.

    In the days since the Brown shooting, investigators have released a series of images from area security cameras of a person of interest. They describe the person as wearing a two-tone coat and about 5 feet 8 inches tall. In all the images, however, the person’s face is partially covered by a mask and hair is covered by a winter hat. The person spent hours in the neighborhood around the university on Saturday.

    Video below: Former Rhode Island AG on FBI investigation into Brown, MIT shootings

    In Brookline, Loureiro’s neighbors reported hearing multiple gunshots Monday night.

    “We heard a really loud noise. I thought it sounded like a crashing noise, but my husband heard it, and he said it sounded like gunshots,” neighbor Anne Greenwald said.

    No images of a suspected gunman or vehicle in that case have been released to the public.

    Loureiro, who grew up in Portugal and joined MIT in 2016, was named last year to lead MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, where he aimed to advance clean energy technology and other research.

    Brookline is about 50 miles north of Providence.

    Anyone with information about the case is asked to submit tips to investigators through the FBI’s website or by calling 401-272-3121. A reward of up to $50,000 is offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

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  • Brown and MIT manhunt live updates as sources say shootings may be linked

     

    Manhunt ongoing in multiple states for suspect in Brown shooting, sources say

    The ongoing, active manhunt for the Brown University shooting suspect is now taking place in multiple states, law enforcement sources tell CBS News.

     

    Search on for suspect, rented vehicle in Brown University shooting, sources say

    Investigators are searching for a suspect in the Brown University shooting and a car that the person is believed to have rented, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

    Authorities believe the rented vehicle is the same make and model of a car that was also detected in the vicinity of the apartment of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro, who was shot at his residence on Monday and died in a hospital the following day, the sources said.

     

    Murdered MIT professor remembered as a “brilliant scientist”

    Nuno Loureiro, a nuclear science and engineering professor from Portugal, taught plasma physics at MIT and led its Plasma Science and Fusion Center. 

    The 47-year-old was found shot Monday night at his apartment in Brookline, Massachusetts. He died at a hospital the following day. 

    “Nuno was not only a brilliant scientist, he was a brilliant person,” colleague Dennis Whyte said in an obituary published Tuesday by MIT. “He shone a bright light as a mentor, friend, teacher, colleague and leader and was universally admired for his articulate, compassionate manner. His loss is immeasurable to our community at the PSFC, NSE and MIT, and around the entire fusion and plasma research world.”

    Authorities are investigating his death as a homicide. 

     

    Brown University mourning 2 “brilliant and beloved” students

    The two students killed in the shooting at Brown University on Saturday, Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, are being remembered as “brilliant and beloved — as members of our campus community, but even more by their friends and families,” Brown’s president, Christina H. Paxson, wrote in a letter to the university community. 

    Cook, a sophomore from Alabama, was vice president of Brown’s College Republicans. 

    “Ella was a devoted Christian and a committed conservative who represented the very best of Alabama,” Alabama Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth said in a post on X. “A bright future was ended much too soon.”

    Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman, was studying biochemistry and neuroscience. His sister, Samira Umurzokova, said he was helping a friend study for an economics final when he was shot.

    A memorial for Brown University shooting victims Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook on the campus of Brown University on Dec. 16, 2025.

    John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images


    “It’s just heartbreaking for the community, we’re all really in shock right now,” student Jack Cox told CBS News Boston.

    Read more here.

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  • Investigators seek older video that might show the Brown campus shooter days before the attack

    PROVIDENCE, R.I. — With the search for the Brown University shooter in its fifth day Wednesday, authorities were asking the public to review any security or phone footage from the week before the attack in the hopes it might help investigators identify the person, believing the attacker may have cased the scene ahead of time.

    The request Tuesday came after authorities released several videos from the hours and minutes before and after Saturday’s attack showing the person they’re seeking standing, walking and even running along streets just off campus, but always with a mask on or their head turned.

    “I believe that this is probably the most intense investigation going on right now in this nation” Providence’s police chief, Col. Oscar Perez, said at a Wednesday news conference, noting that investigators have collected a lot of crime scene evidence.

    Although Brown President Christina Hull Paxson said there are 1,200 cameras on campus, the attack, which killed two students and wounded nine others, happened in a first-floor classroom in an older part of the engineering building that has “fewer, if any” cameras, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha noted. Investigators also believe the shooter entered and left the building through a door that faces a residential street bordering campus, which might explain why the cameras Brown does have didn’t capture footage of the person.

    The lack of campus video of the shooter led President Donald Trump to accuse the Ivy League school of being unprepared, posting Wednesday on Truth Social: “Why did Brown University have so few Security Cameras? There can be no excuse for that. In the modern age, it just doesn’t get worse!!!”

    Where the investigation stands

    Investigators have described the person they’re seeking as about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 centimeters) tall and stocky, but they’ve given no indication that they are close to zeroing in on their identity.

    The attacker’s motives also remain a mystery, and Neronha batted away questions about what they might be, saying Tuesday, “That is a dangerous road to go down.”

    Authorities have been canvassing the surrounding neighborhoods and have received about 200 tips, and Neronha defended the investigation as going “really well” as he pleaded for patience.

    “We’re all over the place. If a tip tells us we need to go down to Connecticut, we’re going down to Connecticut. If a tip comes in and tells us that we got to go to Boston, we’re going to Boston,” Perez said Wednesday.

    But the timing of the attack, coming just before the winter break, could complicate the investigation, as remaining classes and exams were canceled after the shooting and many students have already gone home.

    The investigation also comes as Boston-area police search for the person who killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor earlier this week. That attack happened in the professor’s home, and the FBI said it had no reason to think the two attacks were linked.

    Separately, Providence police on Wednesday released a new photo of a separate individual who they said was in “proximity of the person of interest” and asked the public to help identify that person so they could speak with them. The person in the new photo is wearing dark pants and a blue jacket, and carrying a light tan bag.

    Campus security comes under scrutiny

    The attack and shooter’s escape have raised questions about campus security.

    Paxson said Brown has two security systems. One, which is activated in times of emergency, sent out text messages, phone calls and emails that reached 20,000 people. The other features three sirens across the campus and was not activated Saturday, a decision Paxson defended because doing so would have caused people to rush into buildings, including the one where the shooting was happening.

    “So that is not a system we would ever use in the case of an active shooter,” she said.

    Brown’s website says the sirens can be used when there is an active shooter, but Paxson said it “depends on the circumstances” and the location of the shooter.

    A city on edge

    With the shooter still at-large, Providence remained tense Wednesday as additional police were stationed at city schools to reassure worried parents that their kids would be safe. Some schools canceled afterschool activities and field trips.

    Prior to the shooting, nearly 1,600 Providence residents were registered to receive texts through a city text alert service. According to the city, 760 new accounts have been created since Sunday, bringing the total number of people registered to receive texts to more than 2,300 as of late Tuesday.

    Brown also cautioned people to refrain from accusing people online of having any link to the attack, after it said such speculation led to a student being doxed – their identifying information was posted.

    “Accusations, speculation and conspiracies we’re seeing on social media and in some news reports are irresponsible, harmful, and in some cases dangerous for the safety of individuals in our community,” the school said in a statement.

    And the police chief on Wednesday asked the public to stop circulating AI-generated images being shared on social media.

    Honoring the victims

    About 200 people gathered at a campus church service Tuesday to honor the victims, including Ella Cook and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, the two students who died.

    Cook was a 19-year-old sophomore from Alabama who was very involved in her church and served as vice president of the Brown College Republicans.

    Umurzokov was an 18-year-old freshman from Virginia whose family immigrated to the U.S. from Uzbekistan and who hoped to go to medical school one day.

    Mayor Brett Smiley said Wednesday that a third wounded student had been discharged, leaving five still hospitalized in stable condition and one in critical condition.

    ___

    Contributing were Associated Press journalists Jennifer McDermott, Matt O’Brien and Robert F. Bukaty in Providence; Brian Slodysko in Washington; Michael Casey in Boston; Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu.

    Copyright © 2025 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

    AP

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  • Brown to release early-decision notices as manhunt for shooter continues

    As a search continues for the person behind this weekend’s mass shooting, Brown University was planning to issue early-decision admission offers to applicants Wednesday evening.

    The Ivy League school delayed the release of the decisions, originally scheduled for Monday, after the shooting left two students dead and nine others wounded on Saturday. The university and public officials were facing mounting questions about security and the investigation as the hunt stretched on with the attacker still at large.

    Brown informed applicants by email and on social media that early-decision offers would be posted online around 7 p.m. EST Wednesday. Under early decision, applicants commit to attend the university if they are admitted.

    A Brown spokesperson said the university understood the fear and anxiety that newly admitted students may be feeling and would work with any having second thoughts.

    “For any admitted student who reaches out with concerns about moving forward with matriculation, we’ll work with them individually and personally to determine the right solution,” university spokesperson Brian E. Clark said.

    The manhunt for the Brown University mass shooter is now in its fifth day, and investigators are turning to the public for assistance.

    While some students have talked about potentially pulling applications, those who are genuinely focused on Brown are unlikely to be deterred, said Allen Koh, chief executive officer of Cardinal Education, a California-based college admissions consulting company.

    “Unfortunately, shootings have become a sad reality for young people today, and no school is completely immune, regardless of how elite or well-resourced it may be,” Koh said. “At the same time, the probability of such incidents remains very low, and people still need to live their lives.”

    Applying early decision typically improves a student’s chances of winning admission at selective schools. Elite schools like Brown rely on early decision applications to drive tuition and revenue and fill about half the seats in their freshman class, said Daniel Lee, co-founder of Solomon Admissions Consulting.

    On message boards and in conversations with college advisers, many students expressed shock and concern about the attack but said the shooting did not change their desire to attend Brown. The university’s daily newspaper, The Brown Daily Herald, quoted applicants who expressed a feeling that gun violence was a reality and “this could happen anywhere.”

    In a message to applicants on Monday, the university apologized for the delay in early decision notifications. “We are faced with the reality of mourning the loss of members of our community taken from us from a terrible act of violence, even as we acknowledge that we’re on the eve of a very important day for our many talented applicants to Brown,” the message said. “(We) appreciate your patience and understanding as we grieve, heal, and begin to move forward together.”

    ___

    The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

    Jocelyn Gecker | The Associated Press

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  • Donald Trump’s Remarks on the Death of Rob Reiner Are Next-Level Degradation

    Have you ever in your life encountered a character as wretched as Donald Trump? For many people, this was a question asked and definitively answered twenty years ago, when Trump was still a real-estate vulgarian shilling his brand on Howard Stern’s radio show and agreeing with the host’s assessment that his daughter Ivanka was “a piece of ass” and describing how he could “get away with” going backstage at the Miss Universe pageant to see the contestants naked.

    Or, perhaps, his character came clear a decade later, during his first run for the Presidency, when he said of John McCain, who spent more than five years being tortured in a North Vietnamese prison, “He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.” This was from a man who avoided the war with four student deferments and a medical deferment for bone spurs in his heel. Larry Braunstein, a podiatrist in Jamaica, Queens, who provided Trump with this timely diagnosis, in the fall of 1968, rented his office from Fred Trump, Donald’s father. One of the late doctor’s daughters told the Times, “I know it was a favor.”

    One day, a historian will win a contract to assemble the collected quotations of the forty-fifth and forty-seventh President—all the press-room rants, the Oval Office put-downs, the 3 A.M. Truth Social fever dreams. The early chapters will include: “Blood coming out of her—wherever.” “Horseface.” “Fat pig.” “Suckers.” “Losers.” “Enemies of the people.” “Pocahontas.” And then the volume will move on to “Piggy.” “Things happen.” And so on.

    After a decade of constant presence on the political stage, Trump no longer seems capable of shocking anyone with the brutality of his language or the heedlessness of his behavior. His supporters continue to excuse his insouciant cruelty as “Trump being Trump,” proof of his authenticity. (The antisemitism of Nick Fuentes, Tucker Carlson, and a gaggle of group-chatting young Republican leaders is, similarly, included in the “big tent” of MAGA rhetoric.) Now, when a friend begins a conversation with “Did you hear what Trump said today?,” you do your best to dodge the subject. What’s the point? And yet the President really did seem to break through to a new level of degradation this week.

    This past weekend brought a terrible and rapid succession of violent events. On Saturday afternoon, in Providence, an unidentified gunman on the Brown University campus shot and killed two students and wounded nine others in the midst of exam period. The killer has yet to be found. On Sunday, in Archer Park, near Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, a father-and-son team, both dressed in black and heavily armed, reportedly took aim at a crowd of Jewish men, women, and children who were celebrating the first night of Hanukkah. At least fifteen people were killed, including an eighty-seven-year-old Holocaust survivor and a ten-year-old girl. The massacre was the latest in a long series of antisemitic incidents in Australia—and beyond.

    Finally, on Sunday night, came the news that the actor and filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, had been found dead in their home. Their bodies were discovered by their daughter Romy. Los Angeles police arrested their son, the thirty-two-year-old Nick Reiner. According to press reports, the investigation had focussed on him immediately not only because of his history of drug abuse but also because he had been behaving erratically the night before, in his parents’ presence, at a holiday party at the home of Conan O’Brien. Nick Reiner is being held, without bail, in Los Angeles County jail.

    There was something about these three events that came in such rapid succession that it savaged the spirit—the yet-again regularity of American mass shootings, this time in Providence; the stark Jew hatred behind the slaughter in Australia; the sheer sadness of losing such a beloved and decent figure in the popular culture, and his wife, purportedly at the hands of their troubled son. It would be naïve to think that any leader, any clergy, could ease all that pain with a gesture or a speech. Barack Obama speaking and singing “Amazing Grace” from the pulpit in Charleston, South Carolina, or Robert F. Kennedy speaking in Indianapolis on the night of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.—that kind of moral eloquence is somehow beyond our contemporary imaginations and expectations. What you would not expect is for a President of the United States to make matters even worse than they were. But, of course, he did. A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood,” Trump wrote, on Truth Social, on Monday. He went on:

    David Remnick

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  • Trump, Patel posts cause confusion amid crime investigations

    In a weekend punctuated by tragic events, President Donald Trump quickly shared what he knew, even if his information ultimately proved to be wrong.

    On Dec. 13, after a gunman opened fire at Brown University, killing two and injuring nine before evading capture, Trump posted on Truth Social that “the FBI is on the scene. The suspect is in custody.” But about 20 minutes later, Trump posted an update: “The Brown University Police reversed their previous statement — The suspect is NOT in custody.”

    At the time, members of the Brown community in Providence, Rhode Island, were sheltering in place and seeking guidance on safety. A Brown student pushed back on the president’s assertion: “I am at brown university they have not confirmed a shooter in custody please do not believe trump and stay inside.”

    Emergency personnel gather on Waterman Street at Brown University in Providence, R.I., on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, during the investigation of a shooting. (AP)

    On Dec. 15, the morning after Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, were discovered slain in their home, Trump posted on Truth Social that the killing was “reportedly due to the anger (Rob Reiner) caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”

    Soon after, police arrested the couple’s son, Nick, on suspicion of murder. Nick Reiner has spoken in the past about his struggles with drug addiction and homelessness. Police said nothing about motive and did not mention the director’s political ideology.

    A police officer blocks off a street near Rob Reiner’s residence Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. (AP)

    Trump’s posts echoed those of other senior government officials who similarly took post-first, confirm-the-facts-later approaches to recent, high-profile breaking news.

    • A few hours after conservative advocate Charlie Kirk was assassinated in Utah on Sept. 10, FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X that the suspect “is now in custody.” But less than two hours later, Patel, a Trump appointee, posted that the suspect had been released after interrogation. The man eventually charged with murdering Kirk was not arrested until more than 24 hours later.

    • About 45 minutes after an assailant shot two West Virginia National Guard members on patrol in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 26, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey posted on X that one Guard member had died. Ten minutes later, he posted that both had died. About 20 minutes after that, he backtracked, citing “conflicting reports.” One Guard member ultimately died, but one has survived.

    Fast-moving investigations often zig and zag in unexpected ways, especially when the suspect is not immediately arrested, as was the case in all but the Washington, D.C., shooting.

    Law enforcement is trained to work carefully and under chaotic conditions to minimize further harm to bystanders and the public when investigations are still unfolding. That’s why law enforcement investigators historically speak through formal media briefings, where they can parcel out confirmed information and tamp down speculation.

    But in a social media-driven age that rewards being first over being accurate, government officials like Trump and Patel are supplanting the traditional filters of formal press events, feeding online speculation. The result is a media environment awash with confusion and claims, some of them that prove to be wrong.

    “Occasionally, news outlets have published background leaks from law enforcement that turned out to be false and then had to walk them back,” said Mark Feldstein, a University of Maryland journalism professor and former investigative correspondent for outlets including ABC News. “Never that I know of has the president of the United States or the director of the FBI attached his name publicly to information about a pending criminal case that turned out to be so wildly inaccurate.”

    Feldstein said the sharing of such information “undermines confidence in the individual and institutions putting out the inaccurate information, especially in such high-profile cases that attract so much attention.”

    Juliette Kayyem, who worked in Homeland Security during the Obama administration, said there is no public safety reason for the FBI director to tweet before an indictment. 

    “The FBI director is the bridge between a nonpublic investigation and disclosure of a successful investigation,” she said. “There is no need to hear from the FBI director between those two points. Stop tweeting.”

    Luke Hunt, a former FBI agent who is now a University of Alabama philosophy professor, said posts by the nation’s FBI director are especially concerning.

    “The FBI director — unlike the president — is not supposed to be a politician,” Hunt said in an email. “We historically do not expect rash, impulsive statements from our top law enforcement officials. We expect a patient search for evidence leading to truth. But now I think we are starting to view the FBI director’s posts similar to the president’s. We take what he says with a grain of salt because we have come to expect the posts to be steeped in impatience and political expedience.”

    Trump’s tack is not new for him, at least. In 2020, during his first term, Trump tweeted a baseless conspiracy theory that a 75-year-old man in Buffalo who had been recorded being pushed to the ground during a protest was actually a plant by anti-fascist demonstrators.

    Democrats have also shared information prematurely. In 2021, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Mayor Dean Trantalis, a Democrat, called a car crash during nearby Wilton Manors’ gay pride parade a “terrorist attack against the LGBT community.” Police later said the crash was an accident, and Trantalis, the city’s first openly gay mayor, said he regretted calling it a terrorist attack but said he felt terrorized by the event.

    Sometimes officials scoop the investigators on the scene by sharing initial bits of information that are ultimately supported by other evidence. Even this poses risks.

    Hours after a shooter fired on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas on Sept. 24, killing two and injuring one before killing himself, Patel posted an image of five ammunition shells on X, one of which was labeled with the text “ANTI ICE.”

    Patel wrote that “while the investigation is ongoing, an initial review of the evidence shows an idealogical (sic) motive behind this attack.” His disclosure came shortly after a local press conference in which the casing messages were not mentioned. 

    Although other evidence ultimately supported that motive, Patel veered from the norm when he released raw evidence so early in the investigation — something experts say carries risks.

    When government officials prematurely release unconfirmed or inaccurate information, their actions can complicate subsequent prosecutions by providing jurors with alternate suspects and introducing reasonable doubt. They can expose the government and media outlets to legal risks, including payouts to people wrongly accused.

    The most famous example is Richard Jewell, an early suspect in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing. Jewell “was intimately cleared but suffered damages until the government announced his innocence,” said Stanley Brand, a distinguished fellow in law and government at Penn State Dickinson Law School. Then-Attorney General Janet Reno publicly apologized, and Jewell secured settlements from multiple media outlets who had reported on him in connection to the bombing. 

    As law enforcement officials investigating the Brown shooting questioned someone they called a “person of interest,” some media outlets reported the person’s name, often citing unnamed law enforcement sources. After the person was released and the investigation went in a different direction, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha told reporters during a press conference that “what is really unfortunate is that this person’s name was leaked to the public. It’s hard to put that back in the bottle.”

    Kash Patel speaks at a news conference, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Orem, Utah, as Utah department of public safety commissioner Beau Mason, left, and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox listen. (AP)

    Days after Kirk’s assassination, Patel told “Fox and Friends” that he had no regrets over his decision to release information about a suspect even though it quickly proved incorrect.

    “I was being transparent with working with the public on our findings as I had them,” he said. “I stated in that message that we had a subject and that we were going to interview him, and we did, and he was released,” Patel said.

    “Could I have worded it a little better in the heat of the moment, sure,” Patel said. “But do I regret putting it out? Absolutely not. I was telling the world what the FBI was doing as we were doing, and I’m continuing to do that.”

    PolitiFact News Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

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  • Manhunt Continues for Suspect in Brown University Shooting: Live Updates

    A woman mourns at a makeshift memorial on Sunday outside the Barus & Holley engineering building on the campus of Brown University.
    Photo: Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

    On Saturday, a gunman opened fire in a lecture hall at Brown University in Rhode Island, killing two people and injuring nine others during the height of exam season at the Ivy League institution. Though authorities announced they had taken a person of interest into custody, the individual was later released, the suspect in the incident remains at large, and the manhunt continues as the quiet community is still reeling from the violent incident. Here’s what we know so far.

    Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez shared newly-obtained video footage and photos of the alleged suspect, saying that they’re following a new lead in the days-long investigation.

    Per Perez, the images are from Saturday around 2 p.m., a few hours before the shooting. In the footage, the suspect can be seen walking in a residential area. For the first time, the images include the suspect’s face which appears to be covered by a black face mask.

    “We’re asking the public for assistance to be able to identify this individual,” he said.

    A reporter asked Providence Mayor Brett Smiley about an alarm installed by Brown University that reportedly did not send off a warning to the school community about the active shooter and why that was the case, noting that no representatives were at today’s press conference.

    Smiley said they would have to direct that question to Brown officials. “This is not a decision that the city of Providence or any of the other law enforcement partners that you see behind me can trigger that alarm. I don’t know the answer to that,” he said.

    But the mayor defended the university and said it has been a “close collaborator” in this investigation and that there’s nothing to read into their absence at the briefing.

    The FBI’s flyer describes the suspect as “male, approximately 5’8” with a stocky build.”

    Ted Docks, the FBI agent-in-charge of the Boston field office, announced that the agency is now offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator whom he said is considered “armed and dangerous.”

    Docks said the FBI is still continuing its work in the Providence area, noting that its evidence response teams are still on campus and agents from Quantico’s lab are “documenting the trajectories of the bullets to reconstruct the scene.”

    “We are asking the public to be patient as we continue to run down every lead so we can get victims, survivors and their families and all of you the answers you deserve,” he said.

    Our Cut colleague Andrea González-Ramírez notes how far-right conspiracy theories focused on one of the victims of the Brown University shooting have been emerging:

    Far-right figures have fixated on Cook’s death in particular to claim that the shooter sought to harm conservatives, even though investigators have not identified a suspect. “I’m told she was allegedly targeted for her conservative beliefs, hunted, and killed in cold blood,” William Donahue, president of the College Republicans of America, said on X, offering no evidence supporting his allegation. Far-right podcast host Benny Johnson also claimed without proof in an X post that the shooting appeared to be a targeted attack, saying, “The left’s violent rhetoric has turned into nationwide violence. If we don’t crush this threat now, we lose everything. It’s only escalating.” Chaya Raichik, who runs the far-right social media account LibsofTikTok, quote-tweeted an unconfirmed report on X claiming the attack was planned against Cook and added that her death meant it was “open season on Conservatives now.” Conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, New York City Councilwoman Vicky Paladino, and podcast host CJ Pearson amplified these allegations, too.

    Read the rest here.

    Speaking from the Oval Office Monday, President Trump said the investigation into the Brown University shooting was “moving along,” but that the shooter’s motive was still unknown. “Hopefully they’re going to capture this animal,” he said.

    But when a reporter asked why the FBI has had struggled to identify the shooter, the president seemed to point the finger at Brown itself. “You’ll really have to ask the school a little bit more about because this was a school problem. They had their own guards, they had their own police, they had their own everything,” Trump said.

    He continued, “The FBI will do a good job, but they came in after the fact.”

    There have been several recent instances of long manhunts following high-profile shootings around the country.

    A little over a year ago, it took five days to apprehend Luigi Mangione, who allegedly shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan on December 4, 2024. Images of Mangione were widely circulated amid a national manhunt, but he wasn’t caught until someone saw him at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, thought he resembled the suspected gunman, and alerted a McDonald’s employee who then contacted police.

    In June, it took nearly two days to catch Vance Boelter after he allegedly impersonated a police officer and assassinated Minnesota House Democratic leader Melissa Hortman and her husband and attempted to murder State Senator John Hoffman and his wife.

    In August, it took a seven-day manhunt to apprehend Michael Paul Brown, who allegedly shot and killed four people at a bar in the small town of Anaconda, Montana, then fled and evaded police by hiding in forests in the sparsely populated outskirts of the town.

    In September, the 22-year-old man who allegedly assassinated Charlie Kirk, Tyler Robinson, was able to evade law enforcement for 33 hours following the shooting and was only apprehended after his parents convinced him to turn himself in. Hours after the shooting, after authorities detained a person of interest, FBI director Kash Patel announced that the manhunt was over, but the person of interest was released soon after.

    Rhode Island attorney general Peter Neronha told ABC News that the person of interest who was initially detained and then released has been “effectively cleared.”

    “The evidence that we have, the scientific evidence that we have available to us, after it was analyzed, made clear that this was not someone who should be detained in connection with this case,” he said. “So we released him and then moved on, looking at other evidence and pursuing other leads pointing at additional potential individuals.”

    Following the release of the sole person of interest, the Providence Police Department reiterated its request for the public to share any pertinent information about the shooting with law enforcement:

    In a subsequent post, the department said officers are reaching out to local businesses and residences, seeking any available camera footage. WPRI 12 has video of law enforcement going door-to-door in Providence:

    The Providence Police Department has released new video of a person of interest in the Brown University shooting. In the clip, a figure dressed in black can be seen walking down a city sidewalk:

    The Washington Post reports that Saturday’s shooting has prompted conversation about the safety of Brown University’s open campus:

    Brown, unlike some other urban universities, is not sealed off by fences or other barriers; it’s accessible to anyone who wants to walk onto the Providence campus. While some schools, such as Harvard and Columbia, locked their gates and restricted access to campus after contentious protests over the Israel-Gaza war, Brown remained open.

    Rob Kilfoyle, president of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators and director of public safety and emergency management at Humber Polytechnic in Toronto, said that while best practices suggest sending a first alert five to 10 minutes after learning of an emergency, university officials have been more careful to verify reports after a series of shooter hoaxes, or swatting incidents, earlier this fall. And the first priority is to alert law enforcement so they can get to the scene, he said, before officials issue a public warning.

    Colleges must balance the need for security with the educational mission, Kilfoyle said. “That’s probably one of the toughest things that we have to do in campus public safety, is find that equilibrium between not wanting it to seem oppressive and too restrictive, but also providing sufficient security.”

    Vice-President J.D. Vance weighed in on the Brown University shooting, offering condolences for the two students who were killed. Vance noted Ella Cook’s role in her local chapter of the College Republicans, writing on social media, “It takes special courage to lead an organization of conservatives on a left wing campus, and I am very sorry our country has lost one of its bright young stars. Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord.”

    The vice-president also acknowledged the loss of MuhammadAziz Umurzakov, calling him “a brilliant young man who dreamed of being a surgeon.”

    “Say a prayer for everyone affected by this terrible tragedy, right before Christmas,” Vance wrote.

    So far, FBI director Patel has yet to comment publicly on the release of the investigation’s sole person of interest after publicizing his detention.

    On Monday, Patel’s social media has largely been focused on the agency’s newly revealed work foiling an alleged New Year’s Day terror plot.

    Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin and incoming governor Abigail Spanberger offered their condolences for the victims in Saturday’s shooting, noting that MuhammadAziz Umurzakov recently graduated from a local high school in the state:

    Providence mayor Brett Smiley said that there’s an “enhanced police presence” on Brown’s campus and throughout the city of Providence, but said there have been no additional credible threats made to the community.

    “Ever since the initial shooting occurred, that first call that came in at 4:05 p.m. a day and a half ago, we have not received a single credible call for threat of violence or any sort of information to believe that there is an ongoing threat in any specific, credible way,” he said on ABC News.

    The Brown University shooting is not the first time that FBI director Patel’s handling of an investigation has come under fire.

    Within hours of the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Patel took to social media to declare that the shooter was in custody. But Patel would later have to walk his statement back, writing that the person of interest was “released after an interrogation by law enforcement.” The alleged shooter, Tyler James Robinson, would later surrender himself to police one day after the shooting.

    Rhode Island representative Seth Magaziner, who is an alum of Brown University, criticized the FBI’s handling of the investigation and hoped Patel and others would “take a lesson” from the example set by local officials.

    “I give a lot of credit to our Rhode Island elected officials in not jumping the gun. They were careful to always call this person a person of interest, not a suspect,” Magaziner said, per the Providence Journal. “And that does stand in contrast to the president and the FBI director, who, similar to in the hours that followed the Charlie Kirk assassination, seemed to be very eager to break news before they’re confident whether it’s true or not.”

    In an interview with ABC News, Smiley was asked if officials were “absolutely convinced” that the person of interest had nothing to do with the shooting.

    “We’re not saying that definitively. What we’re saying is that after a review of the evidence that was gathered, it was determined that the person of interest needed to be released,” he said.

    Smiley said that the authorities believe the person seen in the short video released by law enforcement is the suspect they’re seeking and that there currently isn’t any evidence that suggests that anyone else is involved.

    Brown University remains open in the wake of the recent shooting, but the school provost informed the community Sunday that in-person fall exams as well as all remaining classes and projects for the semester have been cancelled. “In the immediate aftermath of these devastating events, we recognize that learning and assessment are significantly hindered in the short term and that many students and others will wish to depart campus,” Francis Doyle said in a statement. “Students are free to leave if they are able. Students who remain will have access to on-campus services and support.”

    In an interview with ABC News, teaching assistant Joseph Oduro recounted the moment the unknown gunman burst into the room where he was holding a study session and opened fire:

    “I immediately, when I saw him, I saw a gun,” Oduro told ABC News correspondent Whit Johnson in an interview on Sunday. “The gun was so big and long that I genuinely thought, like, okay, this is the end of the road for me.”

    …

    Oduro said the gunman was dressed in dark clothing from head to toe and appeared to be wearing something that was bulging from his chest, saying it could have been ammunition or a bulletproof vest. He said the gunman was completely covered except for his eyes and part of a hand.

    “We made eye contact,” Oduro said. “I know he mumbled something, screamed something, I don’t know exactly what was said, but he entered the room and you could just see the panic in all the students’ eyes,” Oduro said. “I was standing in the front so as soon as he walked in, he immediately saw me and I immediately saw him.”

    He said that as the gunfire erupted, he saw some students running out the door and others diving to the ground, “just whatever it takes to stay alive.”

    As NBC News reported Sunday:

    Mia Tretta, 21, was shot in the 2019 mass shooting at Saugus High School, about 40 miles north of Los Angeles. A 16-year-old boy carried out that attack, killing two, including Tretta’s best friend, and injuring three before fatally shooting himself.

    Zoe Weissman, 20, attended Westglades Middle School, adjacent to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, when a former student opened fire, killing 17, in 2018.

    Neither Tretta nor Weissman expected to experience a mass shooting again.

    “No one in this country even assumes it’s going to happen to them,” Tretta said. “Once it happens to you, you assume or are told it will never happen again, and obviously that is not the case.”

    Both of the people killed in the attack were young undergrads at Brown.

    MuhammadAziz Umurzakov, 18, a freshman, reportedly graduated from Midlothian High in Chesterfield County, Virginia, in May. According to a GoFundMe created to support his family, the Uzbek American student “was incredibly kind, funny, and smart” and “had big dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon and helping people.”

    Ella Cook, 19, was a sophomore who grew up in Mountain Brook, Alabama. She was the vice-president of the school’s College Republicans chapter.

    Investigators appear to be back to square one, though they seem confident that the gunman acted alone, and that the video footage they have of a man dressed in black following the attack is of the shooter. Authorities also continue to stress that that Brown community members and Providence residents aren’t in any danger.

    In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, law enforcement issued a thin description of the suspected shooter, describing them as a man dressed in black. The FBI urged the public to send in any information about the possible, publicizing surveillance footage showing a person of interest in dark clothing walking in the area of the shooting.

    On Sunday, FBI director Kash Patel took to social media, detailing the agency’s efforts assisting the Brown University investigation and search for the gunman. Patel revealed that law enforcement had located a person of interest and taken them into custody at a hotel room in nearby Coventry, Rhode Island.

    While officials did not publicly identify the man in question and he clearly wasn’t the confirmed suspect, law enforcement sources leaked information about the man’s identity to news outlets. Their subsequent news reports revealed his name and background.

    But by late Sunday evening, the Providence Police Department announced that it would be releasing the person of interest with no charges.

    During a press conference, Providence police chief Oscar Perez said the initial tip came through the department, but that the FBI ultimately followed it up.

    “There was a tip that came in, just like we would take in any other tips and that one came in specifically identifying a person of interest which was this individual. And so our detectives, just like the others, got on it. But this specific one, it was actually picked up by the FBI and they followed through with it, and they ended up coming and locating this individual of interest,” Perez said.

    State attorney general Peter Neronha said that such shifts in an investigation are not uncommon. “This is what these investigations look like. I’ve been around long enough to know that sometimes you head in one direction and then you have to regroup and go in another. That’s exactly what has happened,” he said.

    But Neronha acknowledged that it was “really unfortunate” that the person of interest’s identity was made public.

    “It’s hard to put that back in the bottle. So we’re going to proceed very carefully here,” he said

    According to officials, Brown University received a report of an active shooter at 4:05 p.m. on Saturday at the school’s engineering building.

    Joseph Oduro, a teaching assistant and 21-year-old senior, told the New York Times that he was leading an economics study session that ended at 4 p.m. But as the students prepared to leave, there was a commotion from the hallway outside. “All of a sudden, we heard gunshots and people screaming,” Oduro told the Times. It was then that a masked gunman rushed into the room and opened fire.

    The campus and the surrounding neighborhoods were placed on lockdown for hours after the incident as authorities responded and sought the gunman who fled the scene. Two people were killed and nine others wounded in the shooting.

    Intelligencer Staff

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  • A Shooting at Brown

    “What does he do?”

    “Well, a gun can hurt people, so we want to be far away from that.”

    “Can you think why he would do that?” V. asked.

    I said, “Well, sometimes people aren’t O.K. in the head, and they want to hurt other people.”

    “So he’ll hurt other people because he’s not O.K. in the head and then his head will feel better,” V. said.

    I tried to change the subject.

    When I got to my friend’s house, he was dressed spiffily for our “festive attire” party, wearing salmon pants, a long brown-leather jacket, and a checked shirt, and was refreshing social media on his phone, looking for updates.

    It seemed that twenty people had been injured. (The figure was later revised down to nine.) We expressed our shock and sadness, but none of it was hard to believe. This is America.

    Then we got an alert informing us that a suspect was in custody. My friend and I discussed whether we should go ahead with the party and decided that, if the threat had been neutralized, we may as well be together. Our daughters would be at his house with a babysitter.

    I went home, but when I arrived, I got another alert, saying the first alert had been false, and no one had been apprehended. My phone swelled with messages from friends who were unsure about whether to come to the party. “Will streets be shut down?” one asked. With my apparent faith in small-town America, I assured him they wouldn’t. “Hey unfortunately our babysitter just canceled because of the active shooter,” another friend texted.

    From there, the night unfolded stutteringly. After we debated the appropriate language, my wife and I sent out a mass e-mail cancelling the party (“We obviously don’t want anyone to unnecessarily venture out today”) but welcoming anyone who was already en route and wished to hunker down with us. An architect friend of mine who teaches at RISD was hiding out in his home on Governor Street, where another shooting incident was said to have occurred—this was later revealed to be false—and had told his wife and two young kids not to come home. We heard helicopters ripping overhead and police cars from up the hill. It was a pitch-black winter night. The shooter was still at large.

    Surrounded by bottles of undrunk Campari and vermouth, we put blinds up on our front windows, which look onto a major street near campus, and tuned into the fire department’s live radio feed. As friends e-mailed and texted, I was struck by the frequent and unself-conscious invocation of the phrase “shelter in place,” the shelters of the nuclear era having given way to something equally queasy but more domestic. A grad student who’d been planning to attend the party messaged me from an open-to-the-public arts building on campus, where she was hidden in a tech closet. She wasn’t sure how she would make it home to the campus-adjacent Fox Point neighborhood, and asked if she could come to my place when she got out. I said yes, of course, though eventually she was escorted to her home by police, around 1:10 A.M. Later, I was shocked to learn that the student had also been in a lockdown thirteen years ago, as a fifteen-year-old, during Sandy Hook, in a neighboring town. “I had been telling people it was a matter of time,” she told me, sounding distraught.

    Slowly, as the night went on, a picture of the shooting emerged: a teaching assistant and Brown senior had been leading a review session for Principles of Economics, an introductory course that many students take, often in their first year. Around sixty students, eager to do well in their exams, took notes in the tiered amphitheatre-like classroom. As the session ended, around 4 P.M., shots and screaming were heard in the hallway. A gunman dressed in black and wearing a face mask opened the door in the back, shouted something incomprehensible, and started firing a rifle. Students surged toward the front of the class; some escaped out the side doors. At the end of it, two students were dead, and seven others were injured. According to one student, it was only when the gunman fled the room that the students began screaming. The T.A., Joseph Oduro, held the hand of a first-year who had been shot twice in the leg as they waited for help to arrive.

    Karan Mahajan

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  • Two Brown University students survived previous high school shootings

    Two Brown University students survived previous high school shootings

    PROVIDENCE FOR US WITH HOW STUDENTS THERE ARE FEELING TODAY, ALANNA. YEAH, THAT’S RIGHT. SEAN. STUDENTS WE SPOKE TO ARE PACKING UP AND LEAVING. LEAVING THE DORMS LIKE YOU SEE BEHIND ME, OUT OF CONCERN THAT THE SHOOTER IS STILL AT LARGE. AND AS YOU MENTIONED, WE DID LEARN THE NAMES OF TWO OF THE VICTIMS. ONE OF THOSE NAMES IS ELLA COOKE. THE OTHER IS MOHAMMAD AZIZ MERS-COV. IT WAS JUST AFTER 4:00 ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON WHEN THOSE TWO WERE KILLED AND NINE OTHERS INJURED, WHEN A GUNMAN ENTERED A BUILDING THAT HOUSES THE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND OPENED FIRE WHILE EXAMS WERE UNDERWAY, AUTHORITIES ARE STILL WORKING TO IDENTIFY THE PERSON IN THIS SURVEILLANCE VIDEO, WHO THEY SAY WAS SPOTTED WALKING AWAY FROM THE SCENE. AUTHORITIES ANNOUNCING LAST NIGHT THAT THE PERSON OF INTEREST THEY INITIALLY FOUND IN A HOTEL ROOM IN COVENTRY, RHODE ISLAND, HAD BEEN RELEASED. WHEN THIS NEWS SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE CAMPUS, MANY STUDENTS BEGAN PACKING UP, CHANGING THEIR TRAINS AND FLIGHTS HOME TO LEAVE CAMPUS. EVEN EARLIER. THIS WAS VERY DYSTOPIAN, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, THIS IS NOT I’M GOING ABROAD. ALL OF MY FRIENDS WERE GOING ABROAD AND FOR THIS TO BE ONE OF OUR LAST MEMORIES ON CAMPUS, AND ESPECIALLY ALL THE SENIORS THAT WE KNOW LIKE THIS IS IT’S TRULY HEARTBREAKING. THERE IS ALSO A WEBSITE AND TIP LINE FOR ANYONE WITH INFORMATION RELATED TO THE SHOOTING. THE WEBSITE IS FBA, FBI, DOT GOV SLASH BROWN UNIVERSITY SHOOTING AND THAT PHONE NUMBER YOU CAN SEE ON YOUR SCREEN. AND AGAIN AT THIS POINT NO ARRESTS HAVE BEEN MADE. LIVE IN PROVIDENCE RHODE ISLAND. ALANNA FLOOD WMUR NEWS NINE. ALANNA THANK YOU. LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THE TIMELINE OF EVENTS OVER THE PAST WEEKEND. THIS ALL STARTED AROUND 420 SATURDAY AFTERNOON. BROWN UNIVERSITY POSTED AN ALERT OF AN ACTIVE SHOOTER ON CAMPUS ON ITS WEBSITE. STUDENTS WERE URGED TO RUN, HIDE OR FIGHT FOR THEIR LIVES IF NECESSARY. THEN, AROUND 630, OFFICIALS CONFIRMED TWO PEOPLE WERE KILLED AND EIGHT OTHERS WERE IN CRITICAL BUT STABLE CONDITION. LATER, THE MAYOR OF PROVIDENCE ANNOUNCED THAT A NINTH PERSON WAS ALSO HURT. AROUND 11:00 SATURDAY NIGHT. VIDEO OF THE SUSPECT WAS RELEASED. THIS VIDEO HERE AND EARLY YESTERDAY MORNING, A PERSON OF INTEREST WAS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY AND RIGHT BEFORE SIX. THE SHELTER IN PLACE ORDER WAS LIFTED. AND THEN LATE LAST NIGHT, STATE OFFICIALS HELD A LATE NIGHT PRESS CONFERENCE WHERE THEY ANNOUNCED THAT PERSON OF INTEREST WAS RELEASED. NOW, THE MAYOR OF PROVIDENCE, SPEAKING THIS MORNING ON THE THOUGHT PROCESS BEHIND THAT RELEASE. IT TAKES TIME TO RUN THIS EVIDENCE. IT TAKES TIME TO PROCESS INFORMATION THAT WAS COLLECTED AND HARD EVIDENCE THAT WAS COLLECTED. AND AND AS WE CONTINUE TO PROCESS THAT EVIDENCE, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THIS PERSON OF INTEREST NEEDED TO BE RELEASED. AND AND WE CONTINUE WITH OUR INVESTIGATION. AND MAYOR SMILEY SAYS THAT SINCE TH

    Two Brown University students survived previous high school shootings

    Updated: 11:29 AM PST Dec 15, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    Two Brown University students are speaking out after surviving a second school shooting. On Saturday, two people were killed and nine others injured when a gunman opened fire inside a classroom at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Police are continuing to search for the suspect after releasing a person of interest who was detained early Sunday morning. Mia Tretta survived a 2019 shooting at her high school in California, where she was shot in the stomach. She continues to experience physical problems years later. “Never in my mind would it occur there was actually a shooting until hundreds of texts started rolling in from everyone,” Tretta said. “When I was shot at my school, they knew exactly where the shooter was within the hour. I didn’t have to deal with this fear for hours on end of where this person is, could they be doing it again.”Zoe Weissman survived a 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. She said she is frustrated to face a second shooting. “Right now, I’m just very angry,” Weissman said. “I think I’m angry that I’ve had to go through this more than once, that now my classmates and my friends also have this experience in common with me.”

    MANCHESTER, N.H. —

    Two Brown University students are speaking out after surviving a second school shooting.

    On Saturday, two people were killed and nine others injured when a gunman opened fire inside a classroom at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

    Police are continuing to search for the suspect after releasing a person of interest who was detained early Sunday morning.

    Mia Tretta survived a 2019 shooting at her high school in California, where she was shot in the stomach. She continues to experience physical problems years later.

    “Never in my mind would it occur there was actually a shooting until hundreds of texts started rolling in from everyone,” Tretta said. “When I was shot at my school, they knew exactly where the shooter was within the hour. I didn’t have to deal with this fear for hours on end of where this person is, could they be doing it again.”

    Zoe Weissman survived a 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. She said she is frustrated to face a second shooting.

    “Right now, I’m just very angry,” Weissman said. “I think I’m angry that I’ve had to go through this more than once, that now my classmates and my friends also have this experience in common with me.”

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  • ‘We all panicked and ran’: Brown University freshman speaks after deadly shooting

    ‘We all panicked and ran’: Brown University freshman speaks after deadly shooting

    PROVIDENCE TODAY. THAT’S RIGHT. BEN, THAT VIGIL ACTUALLY JUST WRAPPED UP A FEW MOMENTS AGO HERE AT LIPPITT MEMORIAL PARK. AND YOU CAN SEE PEOPLE ARE STILL LINGERING AROUND HERE WANTING TO BE IN COMMUNITY AFTER THIS UNTHINKABLE TRAGEDY HAPPENED AT BROWN UNIVERSITY. IT WAS REALLY A BEAUTIFUL CEREMONY. THERE WAS SINGING, THERE WAS PRAYER, AND OF COURSE, COMMUNITY COMING TOGETHER AFTER THIS UNIMAGINABLE EVENT. I SPOKE TO SEVERAL PEOPLE HERE, BOTH COMMUNITY MEMBERS, FACULTY AT THE UNIVERSITY AND PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THIS AREA, ALL SAYING THEY THEY COULD NOT BELIEVE SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENED HERE. THERE WAS ACTUALLY A HOLIDAY EVENT ALREADY SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE AT THIS PARK. OF COURSE, WITH EVERYTHING HAPPENING AT BROWN UNIVERSITY, THE EVENT RAPIDLY SWITCHED INTO A VIGIL AND A MOMENT FOR THE COMMUNITY TO COME TOGETHER. HERE’S WHAT SOME PEOPLE HAD TO SAY ABOUT HOW TIGHT KNIT THIS PLACE IS. THIS IS A SMALL SCHOOL. EVERYONE KNOWS EVERYONE. IT’S GREAT. STRENGTH IS ITS INTIMACY, AND WE’RE SEEING THAT TONIGHT. AND, YOU KNOW, IT’S TERRIBLE REASON FOR US TO GET TOGETHER. BUT IT IS VERY HEARTWARMING TO SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE HERE AND HOW MUCH LOVE THERE IS. THE RED CROSS WAS ALSO HERE, AS WELL AS OTHER COMMUNITY PARTNERS, MAKING SURE EVERYONE HAD EVERYTHING THEY NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO COME TOGETHER SAFELY. THERE’S ALSO ENHANCED LAW ENFORCEMENT PRESENCE HERE. I CAN TELL YOU THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE PATROLS HAPPENING AROUND THIS PARK, AS WELL AS LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS WALKING THROUGHOUT THE CROWD, MAKING SURE EVERYONE FELT COMFORTABLE. BUT OF COURSE, AFTER SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS, THE COMMUNITY WANTS TO COME TOGETHER. AND FROM WHAT EVERYONE IS SAYING, PROVIDENCE IS SUCH A TIGHT KNIT COMMUNITY. THEY REALLY WANT IT TO BE TOGETHER IN THIS MOMENT. AND THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT THEY DID. FOR NOW, WE’RE LIVE IN PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND. DANAE BUCCI WCVB NEWSCENTER 5. AND OUR THANKS TO JENNY FOR THAT. AND IF YOU’RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH PROVIDENCE AND BROWN UNIVERSITY, SO HERE ON THAT SIDE OF THE STREET IS THE ENGINEERING BUILDING. BARRAS AND HOLLY ON THIS SIDE OF THE STREET ARE HOMES. THIS UNIVERSITY IS VERY MUCH INTERCONNECTED AND INTERTWINED WITH PROVIDENCE NEIGHBORHOODS HERE. AND SO THIS EVENT, THIS SHOOTING IS CERTAINLY IMPACTING MORE THAN JUST THE BROWN UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY. IT’S IMPACTING THE GREATER PROVIDENCE COMMUNITY AS WELL. OUR CAITLIN GALEHOUSE, WITH THIS PART OF THE STORY, AS A LOT OF BUSINESSES IN THIS CITY STILL REMAIN CLOSED, THE PROVIDENCE COMMUNITY HAS BEEN SHAKEN BY THIS TRAGEDY. WE’RE IN WAYLAND SQUARE. THIS IS ABOUT A MILE OFF CAMPUS, AND IT’S BEEN RELATIVELY QUIET THIS AFTERNOON. IN FACT, SOME STORES ARE ACTUALLY CLOSED BECAUSE OF THE SHOOTING. I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON AT ALL. FEAR, ANXIETY. TRAGEDY. STRIKING PROVIDENCE SATURDAY AFTER A MAN OPENED FIRE IN A CLASSROOM AT BROWN UNIVERSITY, KILLING TWO STUDENTS AND INJURING NINE OTHERS. THIS IS DEFINITELY BONDING EVERYONE CLOSER TOGETHER. KIND OF SOUNDS AS HORRIBLE AS IT IS. IT’S KIND OF LIKE TRAUMA BONDING IN A WAY. WE’RE ALL HERE AT THE SAME EXACT UNIVERSITY, YOU KNOW, GOING THROUGH THE SAME THINGS. IT’S BEEN ONE DAY SINCE THE TRAGIC INCIDENT BROKE OUT AT THE UNIVERSITY, AND MANY ARE STILL DIGESTING THE REALITY OF WHAT HAPPENED. I’M JUST SADDENED FOR THE BROWN COMMUNITY AND THE ENTIRE STATE. IT’S JUST TRAGIC, THE THE TRAGEDY BEING SO CLOSE TO CHRISTMAS AND, YOU KNOW, FINISHING OUT THE SCHOOL YEAR AND READY TO CELEBRATE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ALL, TO HAVE THAT TAKEN AWAY JUST BY SOME SENSELESS ACT. THE SHELTER IN PLACE ORDER WAS LIFTED EARLY SUNDAY MORNING, BUT THE STREETS ARE STILL QUIET, PROBABLY LESS PEOPLE OUT OF THE COFFEE SHOPS THERE WAS YESTERDAY. WE WERE GOING TO GO OUT TO DINNER. WE DID, AND OBVIOUSLY WE JUST STAYED INSIDE. IT’S A LOT. IT’S IT’S SAD. IT’S SCARY. WE HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE, COWORKERS, THINGS LIKE THAT, CHECKING IN ON US LAST NIGHT. AND I HAVE A LOT OF FRIENDS THAT ALSO KIND OF LIVE LIKE SURROUNDING EAST SIDE AREA. SO YEAH, EVERYONE JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO HOW TO PROCESS AND HOW TO MOVE ON. BROWN UNIVERSITY HAS CANCELED CLASSES AND FINAL EXAMS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SEMESTER DUE TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES. REPORTING IN P

    ‘We all panicked and ran’: Brown University freshman speaks after deadly shooting

    Updated: 9:11 PM EST Dec 14, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    A shooting Saturday at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, that killed two students and injured nine others has left many students, families and city officials struggling to process the tragedy. Members of the Brown community expressed shock and sadness as they mourned the loss of the two students. Video above: Brown University students, community shaken by campus mass shootingAuthorities said the person believed to be responsible fled the scene, prompting a shelter-in-place order that lasted into the early morning hours Sunday. Students were told to stay where they were, silence their cellphones and, at one point, hide. Drew Nelson, a freshman at Brown, described the terrifying moments after the shooting. “We were running out probably a minute or two after the shooting, and there were already, I would guess, between five and 10 cop cars outside. I didn’t see anything that would, I would call a suspect. I didn’t see the shooter. I just kept running until I was nowhere near the building,” he said. Students are now leaving campus and returning home, but for many, that process of healing is only beginning.

    A shooting Saturday at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, that killed two students and injured nine others has left many students, families and city officials struggling to process the tragedy.

    Members of the Brown community expressed shock and sadness as they mourned the loss of the two students.

    Video above: Brown University students, community shaken by campus mass shooting

    Authorities said the person believed to be responsible fled the scene, prompting a shelter-in-place order that lasted into the early morning hours Sunday.

    Students were told to stay where they were, silence their cellphones and, at one point, hide.

    Drew Nelson, a freshman at Brown, described the terrifying moments after the shooting.

    “We were running out probably a minute or two after the shooting, and there were already, I would guess, between five and 10 cop cars outside. I didn’t see anything that would, I would call a suspect. I didn’t see the shooter. I just kept running until I was nowhere near the building,” he said.

    Students are now leaving campus and returning home, but for many, that process of healing is only beginning.

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  • USC coach Gottlieb weighs in on Brown shooting: ‘It’s the guns’

    USC women’s basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb suffered a bitter defeat Saturday when her team lost 79-51 to top-ranked team UConn. But after she walked off court, she weighed in on a more pressing matter: the deadly shooting at her alma mater, Brown University.

    “It’s the guns,” Gottlieb said as she began a post-game news conference at the Ivy League school. “It doesn’t need to be this way.”

    Gottlieb said she got back to the locker room Saturday after the USC Trojans’ home game with No. 1 UConn Huskies and had “a million text messages” from former Brown teammates. A gunman had opened fire during final exams, killing two students and injuring nine others.

    “We’re the only country that lives this way,” Gottlieb said, her voice shaking as she noted that she knew people who have children at Brown. “Parents should not have to be worried about their kids.”

    Gottlieb, who graduated from Brown in 1999, was a member of the women’s basketball team and served as a student assistant coach during her senior season.

    One of her former teammates, she said, was flying into Providence on Sunday, because she had a daughter who had taken shelter in the basement of the library, and “she doesn’t know what’s going on there.”

    Oscar Perez, the Providence police chief, said Sunday that a person of interest in his 20s was in custody. No charges have been filed, he said, noting “we’re in the process of collecting evidence.”

    On Saturday, students and faculty spent the night on lockdown, trapped inside classrooms and dorms while law enforcement fanned out across Providence to search for the shooter.

    “Hopefully, everyone is safe and praying for peace for those that have lost people,” Gottlieb said before she assessed her team’s game against the Huskies. “And that’s that. It’s more important than basketball. We can all be better.”

    Brown University has canceled all remaining classes and exams for the fall semester.

    “The past 24 hours really have been unimaginable,” Christina Paxson, university president, wrote in an email to alumni. “It’s a tragedy that no university community is ever ready for.”

    Jenny Jarvie

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  • 2 killed, 8 critically injured in Brown University shooting; manhunt for suspect underway: officials

    PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLS) — A massive manhunt is underway after a shooting left two people dead and eight others injured at a Brown University building on Saturday afternoon, officials in Rhode Island said.

    Providence Mayor Brett P. Smiley said the shooting, which happened at the school’s Barus & Holley building, was first reported at 4:05 p.m. local time.

    An official briefed on the investigation told ABC News that preliminary information indicates that the shooting occurred in a engineering and physics building classroom, where a study group was taking place.

    Six of the eight people injured are in critical but stable condition. One person is in stable condition while the eighth is in critical condition.

    Rhode Island Hospital is on lockdown but is still accepting emergency department patients.

    Smiley said no one is in custody, and a shelter-in-place order is in effect for the greater Brown University area.

    Providence Police Department Deputy Chief Timothy O’Hara described the suspect as a male who was dressed in black.

    Officials say it is unclear how he entered the building, but he exited it on the Hope Street side of the complex.

    The university said they are working to determine who was in the building when the gunfire broke out.

    Police are working with the FBI to track video from the area to try to find the suspect. Officials are also interviewing witnesses.

    The school sent a message about the active shooter situation to its community through the BrownUAlert system around 4:20 p.m., telling students to shelter in place or avoid the area.

    The alert directed students to “Lock doors, silence phones and stay stay hidden until further notice. Remember: RUN, if you are in the affected location, evacuate safely if you can; HIDE, if evacuation is not possible, take cover; FIGHT, as a last resort, take action to protect yourself. Stay tuned for further safety information.”

    School officials, in another alert, and President Donald Trump, in a social media post, initially said a suspect was in custody, but later clarified that no one is in custody.

    During a Saturday evening press conference, officials said there was an individual who was preliminarily thought to have been involved in the incident, but that person was later determined not to be involved.

    A statement from the university also clarified that a report of another shooting near Governor Street was unfounded.

    The gunshot victims’ identities were not immediately known. Officials did not immediately say whether they are students at the school.

    Smiley added that the number of victims may change as officials gather more information. One official said first responders are still searching the any for possible additional victims.

    No weapons have been recovered, and officials do not yet know what kind of firearm the suspect used.

    Brown University police said there was no threat before the attack.

    A family reunification center will be set up for 7 p.m., Smiley said.

    The university’s president, Christina H. Paxson, sent a message to all students and faculty informing them about the details of the shooting and offering support.

    “We know our community wants answers, and we will provide them as soon as we can. For now, please know we are doing all we can to keep our community safe and have mobilized support for the students and their families,” she wrote.

    Speaking to reporters at the White House after the Army-Navy game, Trump said he has been “fully briefed” on the Brown University shooting, calling it a “terrible thing” and emphasizing the need to “pray for the victims,” whom he says “were very badly hurt, it looks like.”

    “I’ve been fully briefed on the Brown University situation. What a terrible thing it is, and all we can do right now is pray for the victims and for those that were very badly hurt, it looks like,” Trump told reporters after de-boarding Marine One. “And we’ll inform you later as to what’s happening, but it’s a shame. Just pray. Thank you.”

    The president did not have any further remarks and did not take questions before entering the White House.

    Vice President JD Vance issued a statement to X, saying, “Terrible news out of Rhode Island this evening. We’re all monitoring the situation and the FBI stands ready to do anything to help. We’re all thinking of and praying for the victims tonight.”

    ABC News contributed to this report.

    This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

    Copyright © 2025 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.

    WLS

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  • Active shooter at Brown University; Police confirm multiple people shot, no suspect in custody

    Police responded to an active shooting Saturday on campus at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, according to the school’s alert system. Police said there were multiple gunshot victims.The school sent a message warning of an active shooter near Barus & Holley — a building that houses the School of Engineering and the Physics Department. Another alert warned of shots fired near Governor Street.Earlier, the school said a person was taken into custody and then later corrected the alert, saying a suspect had not been detained. See the scene in the video above “Lock doors, silence phones and stay hidden until further notice. Remember: RUN, if you are in the affected location, evacuate safely if you can; HIDE if evacuation is not possible, take cover; FIGHT as a last resort, take action to protect yourself,” the alert read.Dozens of law enforcement officials, some with guns drawn, were seen in the area, escorting students to safety.”There is currently heavy Providence Police and Fire presence on Hope Street near Brown University. Please exercise caution and avoid this area until further notice,” Providence police posted on X.It’s not clear if anyone was injured.The Ivy League school is a private, nonprofit institution with about 7,300 undergraduates and just over 3,000 graduate students, according to its website.The Boston-area Hearst TV station WCVB will have more information as it becomes available.The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Police responded to an active shooting Saturday on campus at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, according to the school’s alert system. Police said there were multiple gunshot victims.

    The school sent a message warning of an active shooter near Barus & Holley — a building that houses the School of Engineering and the Physics Department. Another alert warned of shots fired near Governor Street.

    Earlier, the school said a person was taken into custody and then later corrected the alert, saying a suspect had not been detained.

    See the scene in the video above

    “Lock doors, silence phones and stay hidden until further notice. Remember: RUN, if you are in the affected location, evacuate safely if you can; HIDE if evacuation is not possible, take cover; FIGHT as a last resort, take action to protect yourself,” the alert read.

    Dozens of law enforcement officials, some with guns drawn, were seen in the area, escorting students to safety.

    “There is currently heavy Providence Police and Fire presence on Hope Street near Brown University. Please exercise caution and avoid this area until further notice,” Providence police posted on X.

    It’s not clear if anyone was injured.

    The Ivy League school is a private, nonprofit institution with about 7,300 undergraduates and just over 3,000 graduate students, according to its website.

    The Boston-area Hearst TV station WCVB will have more information as it becomes available.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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