Alexander Castro and Janine L. Weisman
Rhode Island Current
PROVIDENCE — Two people have died and several others were wounded in a mass shooting in a Brown University engineering building late Saturday afternoon, prompting a shelter in place alert on the Ivy League campus and a massive search for a gunman that continued into the evening.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley confirmed at a press conference that began shortly after 6:30 p.m. that at least two people were killed with “a minimum of eight” more injured and in critical condition “but stable at Rhode Island Hospital.”
Smiley could not disclose whether the victims were Brown students.
“These numbers may change,” Smiley said. “We are still in early hours.”
The shooting in the Barus and Holley building on Brook Street occurred as final exams were taking place between 2 and 5 p.m. inside Barus & Holley Engineering, Provost Francis J. Doyle III said.
Providence Police Cmdr. Tim O’Hara described the suspect as a man who was wearing black. The suspect left the engineering building’s Hope Street side. O’Hara said that police did not know what type of gun was used.
Forensic and witness evidence were being used to identify the suspect, and the police were primarily relying on video evidence at the moment, O’Hara said.
“All I can give you is a male, all dressed in black, right now,” O’Hara said of the suspect.
The suspect walked away from the area, and law enforcement were unsure where he had gone as of 6:50 p.m.
Smiley said the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are also involved in the investigation.
Gov. Dan McKee spoke at the Saturday evening press briefing. “So, the unthinkable has happened,” McKee said.
Providence Fire Chief Derek Silva said the fire department was first alerted about the shooting at 4:05 p.m.
Brown sent out its first emergency alert at 4:22 p.m., noting “an active shooter near Barus & Holley Engineering.” The alert cautioned the campus community to lock doors, silence phones and “stay hidden until further notice.” The alert also advised the options of run, hide, or, “FIGHT, as a last resort.”
An update at 4:51 p.m. noted a suspect was in custody, only to be redacted in a 5:11 p.m. update that read, “Police do not have a suspect in custody and continue to search for suspect(s).” The post also advised students to continue to shelter in place.
Smiley said at the press conference that the individual in the 4:51 p.m. update had been mistakenly connected to the incident.
At 5:27 p.m., another emergency alert reported shots fired near Governor Street. That update was also reversed at 6:10 p.m., which added that “a secondary shooting incident near Governor Street is unfounded.”
The erroneous update from 4:51 p.m. noting a suspect was in custody made its way to President Donald Trump, who wrote on his TruthSocial site at 5:44 p.m. that he had been briefed on the shooting and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was “on the scene.”
“The suspect is in custody,” Trump wrote. “God bless the victims and the families of the victims!”
At 6:03 p.m., Trump posted again: “The Brown University Police reversed their previous statement — The suspect is NOT in custody.”
“We are very sorry to share that we have confirmed reports of multiple shooting victims, but we are not able to share their condition,” the University wrote in a statement issued at 6:05 p.m. “They have been transported to local hospitals.”
The Brown emergency updates page first confirmed that there were “multiple shooting victims” at 6:05 p.m. The university could not share their conditions at the time, but noted they were “transported to local hospitals.”
Rescues and other apparatus from surrounding municipalities responded to the campus, including Bristol, Barrington, Central Falls, Cranston, Cumberland, Coventry, East Greenwich, North Kingstown, Scituate, Smithfield, Warwick and Woonsocket.
At 6:17 p.m., a call cleared rescues to return to their home communities.
“Sadly, today is a day that the city of Providence, the state of Rhode Island, prayed would never come,” Smiley said. “We’ve heard about horrific acts of gun violence and active shooter situations in other places, but not here.”
Smiley, who lives in the area, told reporters he was at home watching the Providence College Friars when he saw police lights fill the surrounding neighborhood.