Brown University Shooting: Two Dead, Nine Hurt as Campus Goes into Lockdown

Two students were killed and nine others wounded when a gunman opened fire in a Brown University engineering classroom on Saturday afternoon.

The Incident

The shooting erupted during final‑exam sessions in the Barus & Holley building, a seven‑story complex that houses the School of Engineering and the physics department. The building contains more than 100 laboratories and dozens of classrooms and offices, according to the university’s website. The first‑floor classroom where the shots rang out was secured with badge access, yet the outer doors were unlocked, a detail noted by Providence Mayor Brett Smiley.

Surveillance footage released by police shows the suspect, dressed in black, calmly walking away from the scene. His face is not visible, and investigators said it was not clear whether the suspect is a student. Witnesses reported that the suspect, who could be in his 30s, may have been wearing a camouflage mask.

Search and Response

Hundreds of police officers scoured the Brown University campus and nearby neighborhoods, poring over video footage in the hunt for the shooter. The search stretched late into the night, well after the incident erupted Saturday afternoon. Officers in tactical gear led students out of some campus buildings and into a fitness center where they waited. Others arrived at the shelter on buses without jackets or any belongings.

BrownUAlert issued a tweet that read:

> “Law enforcement officers continue to evacuate community members from administrative buildings inside the perimeter depicted on the map. For all locations (inside and outside the perimeter), the shelter in place remains ongoing. Please see the president’s email and…”

The campus was paralyzed, and the nearby neighborhoods filled with stately brick homes and the downtown area of Providence’s capital city. Streets normally bustling with activity on weekends were eerily quiet.

Suspect Details

Authorities believe the shooter used a handgun, according to a law‑enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity. The suspect was last seen leaving the engineering building.

Provincial Police Deputy Chief Timothy O’Hara said the suspect could be in his 30s and may have been wearing a camouflage mask. Investigators were not immediately sure how the shooter got inside the first‑floor classroom.

Medical Outcomes

Nine people with gunshot wounds were taken to Rhode Island Hospital. One was in critical condition, six required intensive care but were not getting worse, and two were stable, hospital spokesperson Kelly Brennan said. The wounded included ten students, according to University President Christina Paxson, who said she was told 10 people who were shot were students. Another person was injured by fragments from the shooting but it was not clear if the victim was a student.

Impact on Campus

Students sheltered in place for hours into the night. Some students hid under desks in a nearby lab after receiving an alert about the shooting. Chiangheng Chien, a doctoral student in engineering who was about a block away from the scene, said the lights were turned off and students hid under desks.

Emma Ferraro, a chemical engineering student, was in the building’s lobby working on a final project when she heard loud pops coming from the east side. Once she realized they were gunshots, she darted for the door and ran to a nearby building where she sheltered for several hours.

Brown senior biochemistry student Alex Bruce was working on a final research project in his dorm directly across the street from the building when he heard sirens outside. “I’m just in here shaking,” Bruce said, watching through the window as armed officers surrounded his dorm.

Former Survivor contestant Eva Erickson, a doctoral candidate and runner‑up earlier this year on the CBS reality competition show “Survivor,” said she left her lab in the engineering building 15 minutes before shots rang out. She was locked down 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.

Mari Camara, 20, a junior from New York City, was coming out of 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 the same as me, shocked and terrified that something like this happened,” she said.

Leadership Response

Mayor Brett Smiley encouraged people living near the campus to stay inside or not return home until a shelter‑in‑place order was lifted. He said, “The Brown community’s heart is breaking and Providence’s heart is breaking along with it.”

Democratic Gov. Dan McKee vowed that all resources were being deployed to catch the suspect. Rhode Island has some of the strictest gun laws in the U.S., a fact noted by the governor.

Key Takeaways

• Two students were killed and nine others wounded in a classroom shooting at Brown University.
• The suspect, believed to have used a handgun, remains at large and is last seen leaving the engineering building.
• Police search continues as the campus remains on lockdown, with authorities probing how the shooter accessed the exam room.

The shooting has left the Brown community and the city of Providence in mourning, as officials work to locate the suspect and support the injured.