PROVIDENCE, RI (AP) — Rhode Island police said early Sunday they have a person of interest in custody after a shooting that rocked the Brown University campus during finals, leaving two people dead and nine others injured.
Providence Police Chief Colonel Oscar Perez confirmed at a press conference that the person detained was in his 30s and that authorities were not looking for anyone else. He declined to say where the person was arrested or if the person is connected to the university.
The shooting erupted Saturday afternoon in the engineering building of the Ivy League school in Providence, Rhode Island, during final exams. Hundreds of police officers had canvassed the Brown University campus along with nearby neighborhoods and pored over video in pursuit of a shooter who opened fire in a classroom.
Armed with a handgun, the shooter fired more than 40 9mm rounds, according to a law enforcement official. As of Sunday morning, authorities had not recovered any weapons, but they had recovered two magazines loaded with 30 rounds, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.
Providence leaders warned that residents will see a stronger police presence on Sunday. Many local businesses have announced they will remain closed and expressed shock and grief as the community continues to process the news of the shooting.
“Everybody is reeling and we have a lot of recovery ahead of us,” Brown University President Christina Paxson said at the news conference. “Our community is strong and we’ll get through this, but it’s devastating.”
Surveillance video released by police showed a suspect, dressed in black, calmly walking away from the scene.
Earlier, Paxson said he was told 10 people who were shot were students. Another person was injured by shrapnel from the shooting, but it was unclear if the victim was a student, she said.
The search for the shooter paralyzed the campus, nearby neighborhoods filled with stately brick homes and downtown Rhode Island’s capital until the shelter-in-place order was lifted early Sunday. The busy weekend streets were eerily quiet. Officers in tactical gear led the students out of some buildings on campus and into a fitness center where they waited. Others arrived at the shelter on buses without jackets or belongings.
The mayor advised people to stay at home
Investigators were not immediately sure how the gunman entered the first-floor classroom. The building’s exterior doors were unlocked, but rooms used for final exams required badge access, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said.
Smiley became emotional as he discussed the city’s efforts to prepare for a mass shooting.
“All of us intellectually knew it could happen anywhere, including here, but this is not the same as what is happening in our community, so this is an incredibly upsetting and emotional moment for Providence, for Brown, for all of us,” he said. “It’s not something we should train for, but we do.”
Nine people with gunshot wounds were taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where one was in critical condition. Six required intensive care but did not get worse, and two were stable, hospital spokeswoman Kelly Brennan said.
The exams were being filmed
Engineering design exams were underway when the shooting occurred in the Barus & Holley building, a seven-story complex that houses the School of Engineering and the physics department. The building includes more than 100 laboratories, dozens of classrooms and offices, according to the university’s website.
Chemical engineering student Emma Ferraro was in the building’s lobby working on a final project when she heard loud noises coming from the east side. Once he realized there were gunshots, he dashed for the door and ran to a nearby building where he took shelter for several hours.
The former “Survivor” contestant just left the building
Eva Erickson, a doctoral candidate who was runner-up earlier this year on the CBS reality show “Survivor,” said she left her lab in the engineering building 15 minutes before the shots rang out.
The engineering and thermal sciences student shared candid moments on “Survivor” as the show’s first openly autistic contestant. She was locked in the campus gym following the shooting and shared on social media that the only other member of her lab who was present was safely evacuated.
Brown biochemistry senior Alex Bruce was working on a final research project in his dorm across the street from the building when he heard sirens outside.
“I’m here shaking,” he said, watching through the window as armed officers surrounded his home.
The students hid under the desks
Students in a nearby lab turned off the lights and hid under desks after receiving an alert about the shooting, said Chiangheng Chien, an engineering doctoral student who was about a block from the scene.
Mari Camara, 20, a young woman from New York, was leaving the library and rushed into a taqueria to seek shelter. She spent more than three hours there, texting friends while police searched the campus.
“Everyone is just like me, shocked and horrified that something like this happened,” she said.
Brown, the seventh oldest institution of higher education in the US, is one of the most prestigious colleges in the country, with approximately 7,300 undergraduates and more than 3,000 graduate students. Tuition, housing and other fees add up to nearly $100,000 a year, according to the university.
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Associated Press reporters Alanna Durkin Richer, Mike Balsamo and Seung Min Kim in Washington, Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City, Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, Martha Bellisle in Seattle and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio contributed.