A new video timeline and a slightly clearer image of the suspect in the Brown University shooting have been released, but investigators say they are no closer to identifying the individual.
Investigation Continues
Authorities have been canvassing the Providence area in search of clues that might help them determine who was behind Saturday’s campus shooting, which killed two students and wounded nine others. The police have received about 200 tips and are asking the public to review their camera systems for footage that could identify the suspected gunman.
Col. Oscar Perez, the Providence police chief, told reporters on Tuesday, “We’re looking for a moment that is shorter than someone taking a breath.”
Suspect Description and Video Evidence
In all the videos made public, the suspect’s face was masked or turned away. Investigators have only been able to give a vague description: the suspect is stocky and about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 centimeters) tall.
Surveillance footage posted by the FBI and later removed shows a person in dark clothing walking along multiple sidewalks for about an hour, starting shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday. The streets were all within a few blocks of the Brown University engineering building where the shooting occurred.
Some clips show the person walking in front of properties several times. In one, the individual abruptly turns around and runs in the opposite direction when someone approaches. Two clips taken minutes after the shooting show the person walking away from a parking lot and then along a street.
Campus Security and Response
The attack and the shooter’s escape have raised questions about campus security, including a lack of cameras and calls for better locks on doors. Brown President Christina Paxson confirmed that the campus has 1,200 cameras, but law enforcement says there is no clear video of the shooter from inside the engineering building.
Paxson explained that the university has two security systems. One system, activated at an emergency, sends text messages, phone calls, and emails that reach 20,000 people. The other system features three sirens across the campus and was not activated Saturday. Paxson defended the decision, saying, “Doing so would have caused people to rush into buildings, including the one where the shooting was happening.” She added, “So that is not a system we would ever use in the case of an active shooter.”
She noted that the sirens can be used when there is an active shooter, but it “depends on the circumstances” and the location of the shooter.
Attorney General’s Remarks
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha defended the investigation as going “really well” and pleaded for public patience in locating the suspected killer. When pressed about a connection to ethnicity, political motive, or culture, Neronha said, “That is a dangerous road to go down.”
Community Reaction
Brown alumnus Chris Kremer joined about 200 others at a somber church service on campus for the victims on Tuesday. He lives a block from the scene and often goes to the building where the shooting happened. Many in the community are thinking how easily they could have been among the shot, he said.
He said it was better to attend the service than to sit alone being sad, depressed and scrolling through his phone. “It’s always nice to be in a big exalted space when you’re thinking kind of big heavy thoughts,” Kremer said. “I guess people for thousands of years have found that to be something of a salve, so I’m hoping that a little bit of that works for me tonight.”
A city on edge
Providence remained tense on Tuesday as additional police were sent to city schools to reassure worried parents that their kids would be safe. Ten state troopers were assigned to support police sent to beef up security at schools, district Superintendent Javier Montañez said.
Providence public schools canceled after-school activities and field trips for the week as a precaution.
Locals expressed fear as well as defiance. “Of course it feels scary. But at the same time, I think that if the person really wanted to scare us, we shouldn’t allow him or her to win,” said Tatjana Stojanovic, a Providence parent who lives next door to the Brown campus.
Others said the attention on security measures does little to address the real issue. “The issue isn’t the doors, it’s the guns,” said Zoe Kass, a senior who fled the engineering building as police stormed in Saturday. After spending her life in schools where every door was locked and school shootings continued to persist, Kass said such security measures only created “the illusion of safety.”
Victim Details
Details emerged about the victims, who were in the first-floor classroom in the engineering building studying for a final.
Two of the wounded students had been released as of Tuesday, Brown spokesperson Amanda McGregor said. Of the seven people that remained hospitalized, Mayor Brett Smiley said one remained in critical condition, five were in critical but stable condition and one was in stable condition.
One of the wounded students, 18-year-old freshman Spencer Yang of New York City, told The New York Times and the Brown Daily Herald that there was a mad scramble after the gunman entered the room. Yang said he wound up on the ground between some seats and was shot in the leg.
Jacob Spears, 18, a freshman from Evans, Georgia, was shot in the stomach. “Through sheer adrenaline and courage, he managed to run outside, where he was aided by others,” a GoFundMe site organized for him reports.
Ella Cook, 19, a sophomore who was one of the two students killed, was vice president of the Brown College Republicans and was beloved in her church in Birmingham, Alabama.
The other student killed was MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, 18, a freshman from Brandermill, Virginia, who was majoring in biochemistry and neuroscience. His family immigrated to the U.S. from Uzbekistan when he was a kid.
Key Takeaways
- New video timeline released, but suspect still unidentified.
- Police received 200 tips and are seeking footage from local cameras.
- Campus security systems were not activated during the shooting.
- Attorney General urges patience and cautions against attributing motives.
- Community holds services and calls for security improvements.
- Two students killed, nine wounded; several hospitalized in varying conditions.
The investigation remains ongoing, with authorities continuing to comb through footage and community members standing together in the aftermath of the tragedy.
