Search for the Brown University shooter continues as questions swirl about campus security

 Search for the Brown University shooter continues as questions swirl about campus security

Search for the Brown University shooter continues as questions swirl about campus security. Horrific massacre at Brown University in the US, two dead, eight in critical condition. Final exams turned into terror, university under lockdown. Shooter escapes. America has once again been rocked by deadly gun violence.

This time, one of America’s most prestigious universities has been the target of a deadly shooting. A deadly shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island. A gunman dressed in black went on a rampage on December 13,

killing at least two people and seriously wounding eight. The shooting occurred as students were taking final exams at the private institution’s Ivy League campus,

in which about 7,300 undergraduate students and more than 3,000 graduate students were shot in a building near the 12th floor. The complex that houses the university’s School of Engineering and Physics Department.

The suspect is still at large. A large-scale manhunt is underway. Campus police, city police, state police, and federal agents are all involved. Police officers have begun searching campus buildings.

Brown University was placed on lockdown shortly after the incident. According to Deputy Police Chief Timothy O’Hara, the suspect was wearing black clothing and was last seen leaving the Engineering building

where the shooting occurred. Mayor Brett Smiley said a shelter-in-place order is in effect for the area and urged people living near the campus to stay inside and not return home until it is lifted.

Mayor Smiley also said eight of the seriously injured were in stable condition. However, the mayor declined to comment on whether the victims were students.

Sadly, today is a day the city of Providence and the state of Rhode Island prayed would never come. We’ve heard of horrific acts of gun violence and active shooter situations in other places,

but not here. Uh, but at 4:00 this afternoon, we got a call. 4:05 when the initial call came in for an active shooter at Brown University. I can confirm

that two people have died this afternoon and eight more are in critical but stable condition at Rhode Island Hospital. Those are the only injuries or fatalities that we know of at this time.

But as I mentioned, these numbers are still significant and we can change those numbers by the hour. There are currently two deceased at Rhode Island Hospital and eight in critical but stable condition.

Additionally, we do not have the shooter in custody at this time. Shelters are in place for the greater Brown University area. If you live on or near the Brown campus,

we are encouraging you to stay home and stay inside. If you are not home at this time, we would encourage you to not return to your homes until the shelters in place are lifted.

University officials initially told students and staff that a suspect was in custody, but later said that was not the case and that police were still searching for a suspect or suspects.

So, the unthinkable happened. And I have been in touch with the mayor to make sure that all the resources that we have, whether it's EMA, our state police, the Department of Health,

that we have been in contact with, are responding in a way that is as helpful as possible. We have also been in contact with the White House. Our office is in contact with the White House.

So we will bring all of our resources to the table. When we received a call early this afternoon for an active shooter inside a building inside Brown University, our officers responded

and as they are trained, immediately entered the building and began searching for a suspect. Oh, they did a systematic search of the building. However, the suspect was present at that time.

They are able to clear the building and provide a safe place for all the students and teachers and staff who were in the building to meet. It is not known

how he entered the building, but we do know that he exited the complex on Hope Street. We are using every resource possible to locate this suspect.

With the help of police from nearby cities and towns, eight people were transported to the Mayor's Office, who were in critical but stable condition and two unfortunately died on arrival.

We have a total of 10 victims, but as I warn everyone, this is an evolving incident and we are still actively searching the buildings in conjunction with the provincial police

to ensure that everyone has gone home safely and there is no one else who needs our help. Thank you. We are working immediately to determine who was in the building at the time of the shooting

and if there was any impact during the shooting. We know that final exams were taking place in the building between 2 and 5:00 p.m. We can confirm that support services are on site.

We have been and continue to be very grateful to law enforcement and emergency medical personnel. We have evacuated students to a safe location to receive support services

and we will provide further details as they become available. Before I take questions, I just want to make a plea to the greater Providence community. Our area is a week and a half away from Christmas

and today two people died and eight are hospitalized. So, please pray for these families. Understand that this is not something our community has been through together,

but I also know this community and I know that its best moments are when we come together to support each other. This will be a difficult time of day,

and there will be difficult weeks and months ahead as this community heals. We cannot disclose any details about the deceased at this time. Whether or not they were students or any other details.

Uhwe will make those details available as they become available. We hope to provide regular updates throughout the evening and in the coming days and it is too early to provide those details,

so our university indicated that someone was in custody. How long did this misinformation persist? Um, and how was that determination made and then retracted? Oh, there was an individual who was initially thought

to be involved and later determined not to be involved. Oh, and so we can confirm that there is no one in custody at this time. Uh, the length of the investigation or questioning of that individual, I don't know.

Do the police have any video footage of the suspect at this time? We're working on that right now. We're working with the FBI to track down the downloaded video from that area.

What other resources are being used at this time besides video to find the suspect? Forensic evidence. We're using witness evidence and we're looking at most of the video right now

Because we want to get a picture of the suspect as soon as possible. The White House has been briefed. President Donald Trump has been briefed on the situation. In brief remarks at the White House,

Trump said, “All we can do right now is pray for the victims.” Posting on his social media platform TruthSocial, Trump said, “I have been briefed on the shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island.

The FBI is on scene.” Vice President J. D. Vance said in a post on X, “Terrible shootings in Rhode Island this evening. We are all monitoring the situation

and the FBI stands ready to do whatever it takes to help. We are all thinking and praying for the victims tonight. America is once again in mourning.”