Hundreds of police officers carried out a vast search operation this Sunday (14) to find a shooter who killed two people and injured nine others at Brown University in Providence, in the state of Rhode Island, in the eastern United States. The attack led the campus to a state of high alert and the suspension of academic activities.
The streets around the university were filled with emergency vehicles hours after the suspect opened fire Saturday at a building where students were taking their final exams. This episode adds to a long series of armed attacks against educational establishments in the country, in a context of political impasse on gun control.
- Learn more: Two people die and nine injured in shooting at Brown University in the United States.
In a statement to the Brown Daily Herald student newspaper, student Katie Sun said she was studying in a nearby building when she heard the gunshots. “It was really scary. The shots seemed to be coming from where the classrooms are,” he reported. She said she ran to a dorm, leaving her belongings behind.
Eight hours after the attack, the shooter was still on the run. About 400 officers – including local police, students and FBI agents – surrounded the university campus, one of the most traditional in the New England region.
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“I can confirm that two people have died and eight others are in critical but stable condition,” Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said at a news conference. According to authorities, a ninth victim was hospitalized after being hit by shrapnel.
Police released about 10 seconds of security camera footage showing the suspect walking quickly down a deserted street, seen from behind, shortly after the attack in a classroom on the first floor of the building. According to Brown University President Christina Paxson, ten of the eleven victims were students.
“My heart breaks for the students who waited until recess and faced another horrific mass shooting,” Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse wrote on X.
Data from the Gun Violence Archive indicates that there have been more than 300 mass shootings in the United States this year. The organization considers mass shootings to be cases in which four or more people are shot.
The shelter-in-place order on campus remains in effect, the Providence Emergency Management Agency said. Smiley said that as of today, authorities see no need to cancel weekend events or holidays in the city, adding that there is no indication of an immediate and ongoing threat.
The final exams scheduled for this Sunday have been postponed.
The attack took place in the Barus and Holley building, which houses the engineering and physics departments. The university said two tests were scheduled to take place at the scene at the time of the shooting.
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