The search for the gunman who killed two Brown University students and wounded nine others stretched into a fourth day Tuesday morning, as investigators released additional surveillance video and asked the public to help identify a masked “person of interest” seen walking near campus before the shooting.
The FBI has offered up to $50,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction, and police have urged residents and businesses around College Hill to share doorbell camera footage or any other video from Saturday afternoon, per The Associated Press.
But while the investigation has intensified, the past few days have also forced a different kind of reckoning on campus — a mix of grief, adrenaline and the strange rituals people reach for when life suddenly turns unreal.
“The fact that we’re in such a surveillance state but that wasn’t used correctly at all is just so deeply frustrating,” said Li Ding, a dancer on a Brown University team, to The Associated Press.
In an essay published by The New Yorker, Brown instructor and novelist Karan Mahajan described being at home “just eight blocks away” when an automated call came in at 4:22 p.m. Saturday and the university’s first text alert hit his phone.
“There’s an active shooter near Barus & Holley Engineering,” the alert read, urging people to “lock doors, silence phones” and stay hidden.
What we know now
Authorities have identified the victims as Ella Cook, 19, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18.
Police say the shooting unfolded inside Brown’s Barus & Holley building during finals weekend, setting off a chaotic campuswide shelter-in-place that lasted into the early hours of Sunday.
Investigators have said the shooter fired more than 40 rounds from a 9mm handgun, per PBS.
Nine people with gunshot wounds were treated, with several requiring intensive care.
‘RUN … HIDE … FIGHT’ — and a night of conflicting information
Part of what has shaken Providence, and the Brown community, is not just the violence but the uncertainty that followed it.
Warning students of the attack, the first message at 4:22 p.m. shared what to do to stay safe:
“Remember: RUN, if you are in the affected location, evacuate safely if you can; HIDE, if evacuation is not possible, take cover; FIGHT, as a last resort, take action to protect yourself. Stay tuned for further safety information.”
Brown’s emergency page shows a rapid stream of Saturday alerts after that first “active shooter” message, then updated warnings that “police do not have a suspect in custody,” and later a report of possible shots fired near Governor Street that was eventually labeled “unfounded.”
On Sunday, police briefly detained a person of interest. By Sunday night, that person was released, and authorities said the investigation had shifted.
A clearer picture of the attack — with key details still being sorted out
Over time, the broad outline has become clearer: the shooting happened during a class-related study session on campus. Mahajan reported that the gunman entered during a Principles of Economics review session with roughly 60 students present.
Videos from students during the attack have made their way online, showing what the scene looked like at the university’s library.
New video, renewed pressure — and a community still on edge
Tuesday’s renewed public push for tips comes amid growing frustration from students and local individuals who say every hour without an arrest deepens the fear — and the anger.
Hundreds of students have signed a petition to increase school security, saying that officials need to do a better job keeping the campus secure against threats.
“I think honestly, the students are doing a more effective job at taking care of each other than the police,” Ding told The Associated Press.
At a Monday news conference, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee said the goal is simple: identify the shooter and bring him to justice, per The Washington Post. Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez put it more bluntly: “Every minute counts.”
A newly released video shows the person of interest walking about a block from where the shooting occurred, less than two hours beforehand, according to WCVB-TV.
The day after: Snowmen, sharing light and ‘Amazing Grace’
On Sunday morning, Providence woke up to fresh snowfall, and Brown’s campus looked like two realities stacked on top of each other: the familiar calm of an Ivy League quad, and the unmistakable signs of a crime scene.
The American flag was at half-mast, and Brown’s main green — usually a magnet for students on the first snow day — was “mostly deserted,” except for small clusters of quiet undergraduates trying to comfort one another.
And then there were the snowmen.
Mahajan described “five snowmen” scattered around the green, including one “shaped like a cat” with tea-bag labels for eyes. Two students were rolling a huge ball of snow to start another.
When he asked one student why, the answer was simple: “I felt I wanted to do something productive.”
That evening, hundreds gathered on the newly fallen snow to “share light in this dark time,” as councilwoman Sue AnderBois told attendees, per The Providence Journal.
On that first night of Hanukkah, Rabbi Sarah Mack of Temple Beth-El said to students and community members:
We gather this evening in stunned grief, in stunned shock. We can use our light to kindle more light, that is how we can get through this dark moment.
— Rabbi Sarah Mack
Following the rabbi’s remarks, the crowd spontaneously broke into a rendition of “Amazing Grace.”
As the campus community tries to find that grace, small acts are being seen at Brown University, per The New Yorker — students and professors checking on each other, friends hugging one another a little longer in the dining hall, or even some building a snowman so that they can feel productive.
