Mayor Brett Smiley of Providence, Rhode Island, has confirmed that two people have been killed and eight more are critically injured after an active shooter was reported on the campus of Brown University.
Exams were underway on Saturday when the shooting began on the Ivy League campus.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
The suspect remains at large, according to Rhode Island officials. They described the suspect as man dressed in black who left the scene on foot.
At a news conference afterwards, Smiley said that university leaders became aware of the shooting around 4:05pm local time (21:05 GMT), when a 911 call was received by emergency responders.
“I can confirm that there are two individuals who have died this afternoon, and there are another eight in critical status, though stable, at Rhode Island Hospital,” Smiley said.
“Those are the only injuries or casualties that we know at this time,” he added. “ But as I mentioned — and it’s important to remind folks — these numbers may change. We are still in early hours.”
Around 4:22pm local time (21:22 GMT) on Saturday, the Ivy League university issued an emergency update that there was a gunman near the Barus and Holley engineering lab.
“Lock doors, silence phones and stay stay hidden until further notice,” the university said in its update.
“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.”
Later, at 5:27pm local time (22:27 GMT), the school reported that shots had been fired near Governor Street, approximately two blocks away.
The Providence Police Department announced a few minutes later, “Multiple shot in the area of Brown University.”
Earlier in the day, the university withdrew an announcement that indicated a suspect had been taken into custody. It clarified, “Police do not have a suspect in custody and continue to search for suspect(s).”
US President Donald Trump published a similar retraction on his online platform Truth Social, after erroneously posting around 5:44pm (22:44 GMT) that the suspect was in custody.
“I have been briefed on the shooting that took place at Brown University in Rhode Island,” Trump also wrote. “The FBI is on the scene.”
Law enforcement remains on site at the university. The incident is currently under investigation.
Saturday’s shooting is the second major incident of gun violence on a university campus this week.
Just four days ago, on December 9, Kentucky State University in the southern city of Frankfort also experienced gunfire on its campus, killing one student and leaving a second critically injured. The suspect in that case was identified as a Jacob Lee Bard, the parent of a student at the school.
The risk of gun violence has transformed the academic experience in the US, with many schools holding preparedness drills for active shooter situations.
For 2025, CNN estimates that there have been 73 school shootings in the US, as of December 9.
The Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tracks shootings in the US, has documented at least 389 mass shootings this year alone. It defines mass shootings as incidents where four or more people are shot or killed, not including the perpetrator.
Saturday’s shooting comes as the academic semester winds down at Brown University. The last day of classes for the fall semester was on Thursday, and the school is in its final examination period until December 20.
The seventh oldest university in the US, Brown is considered part of the prestigious Ivy League, a cluster of private research colleagues in the Northeast. Its student body numbers at 11,005, according to its website.
This is a breaking news story. More details to come.
