Manhunt under way after deadly shooting at Brown University during exams

AUTHORITIES were searching for a suspect on Saturday after a deadly shooting at Brown University killed two people and left eight others critically wounded, triggering a lockdown and a sweeping manhunt across the city.

Reuters reported on Sunday, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley saying police were still trying to locate the shooter, who opened fire inside the Barus & Holley engineering building while examinations were taking place.

Officials said investigators were looking for a male suspect dressed in black and were reviewing footage from nearby security and traffic cameras in an effort to obtain a clearer description.

Smiley said details about the victims, including whether they were students, could not yet be released as the investigation continued.

“We are a week and a half away from Christmas. And two people died today and another eight are in the hospital,” he said at a news conference. “So please pray for those families.”

Brown University is located on College Hill in Providence, the state capital of Rhode Island, and comprises hundreds of facilities including lecture halls, laboratories and student residences.

President Donald Trump said he had been briefed on the shooting, describing the incident as “terrible”.

“All we can do right now is pray for the victims and for those that were very badly hurt,” he told reporters at the White House.

The shooting has once again drawn attention to the prevalence of gun violence in the United States, where mass shootings at schools, workplaces and places of worship occur more frequently than in other developed nations.

The Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are shot, has recorded 389 such cases in the United States so far this year. The group reported that more than 500 mass shootings took place nationwide last year.

Police said the investigation remains active and urged anyone with information related to the incident to contact authorities as efforts continue to locate the suspect and determine the motive behind the attack. - December 14, 2025