A shooting near Brown University, in the state of Rhode Island and one of the elite centers in the United States, left at least two dead and eight seriously injured this Saturday, as reported by Brett Smiley, the mayor of Providence, the city where the educational institution is located. So far the shooter has not been captured and police officers continue the search, reported the mayor, who has urged residents in the area not to leave where they are for the moment for safety reasons.
The suspect is a man who was dressed in black and who left the scene on foot after leaving through a side door, according to Providence Police Deputy Chief Tim O’Hara. “It’s a very fluid situation,” added Rodney Chatman, the head of the university police.
The eight injured have been transported to the hospital and are in serious but stabilized condition, Mayor Smiley said in a press conference.
The incident occurred in the Barus and Holley building, which houses classrooms and laboratories of a school of engineering and physical sciences, in a particularly busy area of the university, according to local authorities.
The event occurred in the middle of final exams week before the end of the school semester at an institution where more than 10,000 students are enrolled, so there was a larger than usual presence of students in the area on a weekend. At the time of the shooting, several exams were taking place inside the engineering school, as confirmed by the University.
As explained by O’Hara, the first report of shots fired inside a university building was received in the middle of the afternoon, around 4:05 p.m. local time (10:05 p.m. Spanish peninsular time). “Our officers responded and, as they are trained to do, entered the building immediately and began searching for a suspect. They completed a systematic search, but did not locate anyone suspicious,” the police authority explained.
President Donald Trump reported in a message on social media in which he talks about “victims” that the FBI is on the ground. He also claimed that the suspect has been detained, although a few minutes later he corrected that statement to indicate that he has not yet been captured.
“I have been updated on the shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island. The FBI is on the scene. The suspect is in police custody. May God bless the victims and their families!”, declared the president at first. Minutes later, he rectified: “the University Police has corrected its previous statements, the suspect is NOT in police custody.”
Upon his return from Baltimore, where he had attended a football game, Trump again expressed his condolences. “What a terrible thing,” he declared, “all we can do is pray for the victims.”
“There is an active shooter near Barus and Holley (a building where the School of Engineering is located and in a particularly frequented area). The Police are on the scene. Remain sheltered for the moment,” the University had warned in an alert sent to students after the first shots were detected. In a second message, the institution had mentioned that the suspect had been arrested, although just minutes later it corrected itself.
“The police do not have any suspects in custody and continue to search for the suspect or suspects, indicated Brown University. So far it is not clear whether Trump in his message about the suspect’s capture was referring to new information or citing the University’s first message.
According to local authorities, a suspect had initially been intercepted, but once at the police station it was confirmed that this person was not related to the incident, so he was released.
Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee has indicated that his office is monitoring the situation and has urged residents “to stay away from the area and to use official channels for updates.”
The incident comes two weeks after two West Virginia National Guard soldiers were attacked by an Afghan citizen while completing a patrol at a subway station in Washington, DC, the US capital. Service member Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her injuries the next day. His partner, Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, 24, is recovering from his injuries.
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