Two people were killed and nine others were injured after a shooter dressed in dark clothing entered the engineering building at the prestigious Brown University and opened fire in a classroom where a final exam was taking place. At least one of the victims remains in critical condition.
A shooter dressed in black killed at least two people and injured nine others at Brown University on Saturday during final exams at the Ivy League school. Police say they are still searching for the suspect behind the incident.
University President Christina Paxson said she was told that 10 people who were shot were students. Another person was injured by fragments from the shooting, but it was not clear if that victim was a student, she said.
Officers scattered across the campus and into an affluent neighbourhood filled with historic and stately brick homes, searching academic buildings, backyards and porches late into the night after the shooting erupted in the afternoon.
The suspect was a man in dark clothing who was last seen leaving the engineering building where the attack happened, said Timothy O’Hara, deputy chief of Providence police.
Security footage showed the suspect walking away from the building, but his face was not visible. Some witnesses reported that the man, who could be in his 30s, may have been wearing a camouflage mask, O’Hara added.
Investigators were still looking into how the shooter managed to get inside the first-floor classroom where he opened fire. Outer doors of the building were unlocked, but rooms being used for final exams required badge access, according to Providence’s Mayor Brett P. Smiley.
An official who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to a lack of authorisation to discuss an ongoing investigation told the Associated Press that they believe the shooter used a handgun in this attack.
“The unthinkable has happened,” said Democratic Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, who vowed that all resources were being deployed to catch the suspect.
Smiley said a shelter-in-place remained in effect and encouraged people living near the campus to stay inside or not return home until it is lifted. Streets that normally bustle with activity on weekends were eerily quiet.
“The Brown community’s heart is breaking, and Providence’s heart is breaking along with it,” Smiley said.
Nine people with gunshot wounds were taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where one was in critical condition, said Kelly Brennan, a spokesperson for the hospital. Six required intensive care but were not getting worse, and two were stable, she added.
Some students sheltered for hours after hearing what they described as “loud pops”. It was approximately five hours later when police in tactical gear entered the nearby buildings and escorted the students out and into a fitness centre.
The shooting occurred in the Barus & Holley building, a seven-story complex that houses the School of Engineering and physics department. According to the university’s website, the building includes more than 100 laboratories, dozens of classrooms and offices.
US President Donald Trump told reporters that he had been briefed about the incident, stating that and “all we can do right now is pray for the victims.”
Rhode Island has some of the strictest gun laws in the US. Last spring the Democratic-controlled Legislature passed an assault weapon ban that will prohibit the sale and manufacturing of certain high-powered firearms, but not their possession, which is set to go into effect starting next July.