Police search Brown University after gunman kills 2 people and injures 9 others

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Police are searching for a suspect after authorities say a black-clad gunman killed at least two people and injured nine others Saturday at Brown University, an Ivy League campus during final exams.

University President Christina Paxson said she was told the 10 people shot were students. Another person was injured by shrapnel from the gunfire, but it was unclear whether that victim was a student.

Officers spread out across campus and in affluent areas of historic, stately brick homes, searching academic buildings, backyards and porches late into the night after gunfire erupted in the afternoon.

Providence Police Deputy Chief Timothy O’Hara said the suspect, a man wearing black clothing, was last seen leaving the engineering building where the attack took place.

Security camera footage showed the suspect leaving the building, but his face was not visible. O’Hara said some witnesses reported that the man, believed to be in his 30s, may have been wearing a camouflage mask.

Investigators still don’t know how the gunman entered the first-floor classroom and opened fire. The outside door of the building was not locked, but badges were required for the room used for the final exam, the Providence mayor said.

Authorities believe the gunman used a handgun, said a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee, a Democrat, said “the unthinkable has happened” and vowed to use all resources to apprehend the suspects.

Mayor Brett Smiley said the shelter-in-place order remains in place and urged people who live near campus to stay indoors or not return home until it is lifted. The street, usually busy on weekends, was eerily quiet.

“The heart of the Brown community is breaking, and the heart of Providence is breaking with it,” Smiley said.

Chemical engineering student Emma Ferraro was working on her final project in the building’s lobby when she heard a loud popping sound coming from the east side. When she realized it was a gunshot, she dashed for the door and fled into a nearby building, where she took shelter for several hours.

Nine people with gunshot wounds were taken to Rhode Island Hospital, one in critical condition, hospital spokeswoman Kelly Brennan said. Six people required intensive care, but their condition was not worsening, and two were said to be stable.

University officials initially told students and staff that a suspect was in custody, but later announced that was not the case. The mayor said a person initially believed to be involved was taken into custody, but it was later determined he was not involved.

About five hours after the shooting, officers in tactical gear ushered students from part of the campus building into the fitness center.

The shooting occurred at the Barth & Hawley Building, a seven-story complex that houses the School of Engineering and the Department of Physics. The building includes more than 100 laboratories, dozens of classrooms and offices, according to the university’s website.

An engineering design exam was being held there when the shooting occurred.

Eva Erickson, a doctoral candidate who was a finalist on the CBS reality show “Survivor” earlier this year, said she left her lab in the engineering building 15 minutes before the gunshots rang out.

The engineering and thermal science student shared a candid moment from his time on Survivor, becoming the show’s first openly autistic cast member. She shared on social media that she was trapped in the campus gymnasium after the shooting and that the only lab member present was safely evacuated.

Biochemistry student Alex Bruce was working on a final research project in a dorm directly across the street from the building when he heard sirens and received a text message about a gunman just after 4 p.m.

“I’m just here shaking,” he said, looking out the window as six armed officers in tactical gear surrounded the dormitory.

Chenheng Qian, a doctoral student in engineering who was about a block away from the scene, said students in nearby labs hid under desks and turned off the lights after being alerted to the gunfire.

Mari Camara, a college junior from New York City, came out of the library and rushed inside a taqueria for shelter. She spent more than three hours there, texting friends, while police searched the campus.

“Everyone, like me, is shocked and horrified that something like this happened,” she said.

Brown University, the seventh oldest institution of higher education in the United States, is one of the nation’s most prestigious universities with approximately 7,300 undergraduate students and more than 3,000 graduate students. Tuition, housing and other costs amount to nearly $100,000 a year, the university said.

President Donald Trump told reporters he had been briefed and said, “All we can do now is pray for the victims.”

Rhode Island has some of the strictest gun laws in the United States. Last spring, the Democratic-controlled Congress passed an assault weapons ban that would ban the sale and manufacture, but not the possession, of certain high-powered firearms starting next July.