Quick Summary
- Two students were killed and nine others were injured in a shooting at Brown University.
- The shooting happened at an engineering and physics building during a final exam review.
- Authorities have locked down the campus and are conducting a large-scale search.
- The shooter was described as a male dressed in black and is believed to have fled on foot.
A gunman who opened fire on students at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, killing two and injuring nine others during a final exam review, remained at large late Saturday as hundreds of officers searched for him. Police said the suspect fled on foot.
The attack began around 4:05 p.m. EST inside a first-floor classroom during a final exam review for a large economics course, according to The New York Times. Law enforcement described the suspect as a man dressed in dark clothing, possibly in his 30s, last seen leaving the area without his face visible on security footage.
Authorities released video footage showing the man leaving the engineering building, but said his face was not clearly captured.
Investigators asked anyone who might recognize his gait or outfit to come forward.
Brown University confirmed that the two people killed were students. Officials said at a press briefing that all nine injured individuals were in stable condition at nearby hospitals. Though they could not yet verify that all of the wounded were students, early indications pointed to that.
Police said no weapon had been recovered. One person was initially detained during the response but was later released after being cleared of involvement.
Authorities locked down the campus and issued a shelter-in-place advisory for the surrounding College Hill neighborhood. The order also includes dormitories, libraries, lecture halls and labs.
Though the advisory applied only to the university area, many local restaurants, shops and even the Providence Place Mall closed early. Firefighters were dispatched to public gathering spots to assist in safety efforts.
Mayor Brett Smiley said more than 400 law enforcement officers were working in the area to investigate the attack and secure the campus.
He added that the outer doors to the building had been unlocked at the time of the shooting, and that investigators were still reviewing available video, though footage of the gunman inside the building had not yet been located.
Students described panic and confusion as news of the shooting spread.
Chiang-Heng Chien, a Brown student, told local station WJAR that he was working in a lab with three classmates nearby when the university alert was issued. The group hid under desks for roughly two hours, he said.
Federal agencies and police from nearby cities joined the search.
Officials said crowded downtown streets and large public events, including holiday concerts, made the search more difficult. Law enforcement teams were seen going door to door and inspecting cars parked near the campus, which spans hundreds of buildings across the College Hill area of Providence, the Rhode Island state capital.
President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he had been briefed on the situation and called it “terrible.” He added, “All we can do right now is pray for the victims and for those that were very badly hurt,” as reported by Reuters.
Officials have not released the names of the victims. Investigators said they had received several tips about the suspect, but none had yet led to an identification.
As police continued their investigation into the night, the area around the engineering building remained cordoned off. Roads were closed and officers maintained patrols as the search continued.
Brown University, founded in 1764, is one of eight Ivy League institutions and enrolls roughly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Its main campus sits atop College Hill in Providence and has more than 230 buildings.
The country has recorded 389 mass shootings so far in 2025, including at least six involving schools, according to the Gun Violence Archive, the newswire noted. The nonprofit defines a mass shooting as any incident in which four or more people are shot.
This is a fast-developing story, and some details might change as authorities release updated information.
