Shooting at Brown University | Suspect released by police

(Providence) The person of interest held after a shooting at Brown University that killed two students and injured nine others will be released, officials said Sunday evening.

The announcement, made at a hastily called late-night news conference, represents a dramatic turnaround in the investigation into the murders that rocked the Ivy League campus. It comes more than 12 hours after authorities announced they had taken one person into custody in connection with the attack.

This release means that the person responsible for the murder could still be at large.

“We know this is likely to spark a new wave of concern in our community,” said Mayor Brett Smiley.

The gunfire erupted in the engineering building at this Ivy League university in Providence, Rhode Island, during final exams.

Equipped with a handgun, the maniac fired more than 40 9 mm bullets, according to a police source. Authorities had not yet recovered the weapon, but two 30-round magazines were found, she added.

On Sunday morning, authorities took into custody a person whom two people familiar with the matter identified as a 24-year-old man from Wisconsin. This person, whose name was never released by the authorities, has now been released.

“I’ve been in the business long enough to know that sometimes you go in one direction and then you have to regroup and go in another, and that’s exactly what happened over the last 24 hours,” said Attorney General Peter Neronha.

Col. Oscar Perez, Providence police chief, said at a news conference Sunday afternoon that the suspect arrested was in his 20s. No charges had yet been filed against him. The officer had earlier said he was in his 30s. No one else was questioned. He did not say whether the suspect had a connection to the university.

The individual was arrested at a hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island, approximately 20 miles from Providence. Local police and FBI agents remained on scene, blocking a corridor to continue their search.

Hundreds of police officers combed the Brown University campus and surrounding neighborhoods. They also viewed CCTV footage to find the shooter who opened fire in a classroom.

University officials announced that all classes, exams, assignment submissions and projects had been canceled for the remainder of the semester. Students can return home. Those who remain on campus will be entitled to support services, announced Vice-President Francis Doyle

“It is essential at this time to focus our efforts on providing care and support to members of our community as we deal with the pain, fear and anxiety that affect us all at this time,” he wrote in a statement.

Providence authorities warned residents that the police presence would be increased on Sunday. Many local businesses announced they would remain closed and expressed shock and deep sadness as the community continued to cope.

“We are all in shock and the road to recovery will be long,” Brown University President Christina Paxson said at the press conference.

CCTV 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 is not certain whether he is a student.

The suspect was last seen leaving the engineering building and some witnesses told police the suspect may have been wearing a camouflage mask, Providence Deputy Police Chief Timothy O’Hara said.

M^me Paxson reported earlier that she was informed that 10 of those hit by the shooting were students. Another person was injured by bullet fragments, but it is not known whether the victim was a student, she said.

The hunt for the shooter paralyzed the campus, the surrounding neighborhoods with elegant brick houses and downtown Providence, capital of the state of Rhode Island. The streets, usually so bustling on weekends, were eerily quiet.

The students remained confined for hours, until late in the evening. Police officers in tactical gear escorted the students out of some campus buildings and took them to a sports center where they waited. Others arrived at the shelter by bus, without coats or personal belongings.

Containment order

Investigators still did not know how the shooter was able to enter the downstairs classroom. The building’s exterior doors were unlocked, but access to rooms used for final exams required a badge, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said.

He encouraged people living near campus to stay home or not return until the stay-at-home order was lifted.

“The community of Brown is devastated, and so is Providence,” Mr. Smiley said.

Hours before the news conference, authorities believed the shooter used a handgun, according to a law enforcement official who requested anonymity and was not authorized to speak about the ongoing investigation.

Rhode Island has one of the strictest gun laws in the United States.

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

One of the injured has been released from hospital.

During the exam period

Engineering design reviews were underway when the shooting broke out in the Barus & Holley Building, a seven-story complex housing 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.

Emma Ferraro, a chemical engineering student, was working on a final project in the building’s lobby when she heard bangs coming from the east. As soon as she realized it was gunshots, she rushed out the door and ran to take shelter in a nearby building for several hours.

After receiving the alert about the shooting, students at a nearby lab turned off the lights and hid under tables, said Chiangheng Chien, an engineering doctoral student who was about a block from the scene.

Mari Camara, 20, a third-year student from New York, was leaving the library and ran into a taquería for shelter. She stayed there for more than three hours, exchanging messages with her friends while police searched the campus.

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

Brown University, the seventh oldest institution of higher education in the United States, is one of the most prestigious in the country, enrolling approximately 7,300 undergraduates and more than 3,000 graduate students. Tuition, housing and other costs amount to nearly US$100,000 per year, according to the university.