Police detain person of interest in Brown University shooting
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PROVIDENCE: US authorities detained a person of interest on Sunday following a shooting at Brown University that killed two students and wounded nine others in a building where final exams were taking place.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley announced the detention during an early morning news conference, confirming the campus shelter-in-place order had been lifted.
Speaking alongside Smiley, Police Colonel Oscar Perez said authorities were “not at this point” looking for anyone else in relation to the attack.
Of the nine wounded, Smiley said one is in critical condition, seven are in stable condition and one has been discharged.
‘Shelter-in-place’ lifted as authorities cease search for suspects
Brown University President Christina Paxson confirmed in a letter to community members that all 11 victims were students. At the time, the university had sent an emergency alert regarding an active shooter near the Barus and Holley Engineering building.
“Nine members of our community who were transported to local hospitals are all students,” Paxson wrote on the school’s website. “And we lost two students to today’s devastating gun violence.”
The attack triggered a terrifying lockdown on Saturday afternoon. Witness Katie Sun told the Brown Daily Herald student newspaper she was studying nearby when she heard gunfire and fled to her dormitory.
“It was honestly quite terrifying. The shots seemed like they were coming from where the classrooms are,” Sun said.
Student Lydell Dyer, who was working in the gym, told CNN he hid in the dark with 154 others.
“We had to go gather everybody, bring them up to the top floor, turn off the lights, and put down the blinds,” Dyer said.
Officials have postponed final exams scheduled for Sunday. Smiley noted the incident has left the Ivy League community “incredibly shaken up”.
“This should not be normal,” Smiley said. “This should not be the case that every community needs to prepare for something like this to happen.”
President Donald Trump called the shooting a “terrible thing” after being briefed. “All we can do right now is pray for the victims,” he said.
The incident is the latest in a series of attacks across the country. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been more than 300 mass shootings in the United States this year.
Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2025
