FBI agents could be seen taking down crime scene tape in the Waterman Street area. Investigators are asking for the public’s help in identifying and speaking to the individual shown in these photos who was in proximity of the person of interest. ENHANCED VIDEO: We are releasing an enhanced video of the person of interest in the Brown University incident. Footage was captured on the East Side of Providence on Saturday afternoon before the incident.
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Two students were killed in a shooting that occurred in Barus and Holley around 4 p.m. on Saturday, according to an email sent to the Brown community. In a Tuesday morning email from President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20, Ella Cook ’28 and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov ’29 were confirmed as the two students who were killed. An additional nine victims were hospitalized, one of whom remains in critical but stable condition. Five others are in stable condition and three have been discharged.
At a 7 a.m. press conference on Sunday, Provost Francis Doyle, Paxson, Mayor Brett Smiley and other state officials confirmed that a person of interest was in custody. At an 11 p.m. press conference, Smiley shared that the individual was going to be released shortly. A Sunday night email to the Brown community confirmed the person of interest’s release.
At a 5 p.m. press conference on Monday, authorities shared three new videos and two photos of a person of interest. The new footage and images were taken “from the area of Hope Street, near Benevolent and Manning (streets),” said Providence Chief of Police Oscar Perez. In an 8:09 p.m. email on Monday, the Department of Public Safety asked everyone who was in Barus and Holley on either Friday or Saturday to "contact the Providence police to arrange for an interview." Officials believe there is no continued threat in the Providence area but believe the person of interest to be "armed and dangerous.”
All remaining classes, exams, papers or projects for the semester will “not take place as scheduled,” according to an 8:24 a.m. email from Provost Francis Doyle to the Brown community. Students can accept a course grade based on coursework completed up until December 13th, or they can remotely complete final exams, papers and reports so long as they submit materials to professors prior to Jan. 7. Additionally, students have the ability to retroactively change their grade option to Satisfactory/No Credit regardless of whether they opt to submit additional assignments.
Follow live updates on Saturday’s shooting incident here. Updates from Dec. 13 to Dec. 15 can be seen here.
Of the six patients who remain hospitalized, one is in critical but stable condition and five are stable.
Barus and Holley will remain closed “per instructions from the law enforcement agencies leading the investigation,” the email reads.
The PPD and the FBI have established a space in Alumnae Hall to facilitate the return of “urgent” items left in Barus and Holley, which include identification documents and prescription medication. Items will be available for pick up on Thursday, Dec. 18 between 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Students and staff may also access “private spaces” to share information with the PPD. “It is vitally important to contribute information as part of a shared effort across our community to support the investigation and efforts to ensure our safety,” Poitevien wrote.
The American Red Cross, counseling resources, crisis intervention, spiritual care providers and FBI victim specialists will also be available to speak with students.
According to Poitevien, Brown has “continued to provide assistance to our injured students so they are able to access the same support services.”
Stefanik gained national attention for her questioning of Harvard, Penn and MIT’s university presidents over alleged antisemitism on their campuses during December 2023.
Online speculation “by people who have no idea what they are talking about, who have no clue about what is happening, is not helpful to the investigation,” he added. He explained that misinformation can often “cascade into tip lines,” diverting law enforcement from pursuing other leads in their investigation.
He also urged commentators to give families of the two students killed in the attack and the nine injured victims “a bit of grace” by not speculating about the attack. He added “ill-informed and unnecessary speculation” about the incident does “no good at all” to the affected families.
“All the conspiracy theories, all the creepy, weird plot ideas, please, just knock it off,” Whitehouse said.
One patient is in critical but stable condition, while six others are in stable condition. Two patients had previously been discharged.
“Investigators are asking for the public’s help in identifying and speaking to the individual shown in these photos,” the post reads. In the images, the individual appears to be wearing a dark-colored jacket over a light-colored hoodie and carrying a white bag.
The post urged “anyone with information” to report it to the PPD tip line.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the tip line at 401-272-3121. pic.twitter.com/DJ26rruuc9
Brown has more than 1,200 security cameras in various interior and exterior locations around campus, according to Clark. The cameras are focused on high traffic areas and “do not extend to every hallway, classroom, laboratory and office” in the over 250 buildings on campus.
The University will continue to provide investigators with available security footage as necessary, including footage from Barus and Holley and surrounding buildings, he added.
After Brown’s Department of Public Safety learned about the active shooter, the emergency notification system alerted 20,000 people “within minutes,” Clark wrote. The public safety team chose not to activate the campus-wide siren to avoid putting people into the path of the shooter.
The University plans to conduct a “large-scale systematic security review of the entire campus,” he added. Most buildings on college campuses are “open and accessible,” during the day with required ID card swipes after hours, which is “common” practice across the nation.
The University “heightened” security in recent days, he wrote. “We know we live in a different time.”
The 4:59 p.m. email was co-signed by the Brown Center for Students of Colour, the LGBTQ Center, the Office of Military-Affiliated Students, the Sarah Doyle Center for Women and Gender and the Undocumented, First-Generation College and Low-Income Student Center.
The email offered virtual support to students “while our physical centers are temporarily inaccessible” through virtual support from each center and interfaith community prayer spaces.
According to the email, the virtual centers — where administrative staff will provide guidance and give support to students virtually — will be available until Monday, Dec. 22.
The interfaith community prayers space would see “prayer, silence, music and shared presence across faith traditions,” the email reads. “All students are welcome, including those who do not identify with a particular faith.”
The email also directed students to the GBC’s Winter Break Resources page posted to their website, which connects students remaining on campus over the break via a group chat. The GBC will also run its Holiday Table program this break, matching Brown faculty and staff with international students “to connect through a meal or activity,” the resources page reads. The center also plans to host a Winter Break Lunch, so that students can “say hi to old friends and make new ones.”
“We know that healing happens in community — especially if it feels like others cannot fully grasp what we have been through,” the email reads, adding, “in this space, you don’t have to explain the grief you may be feeling.”
“We’ve seen harmful doxxing activity directed toward at least one member of the Brown University community,” the statement read. “It’s important to make clear that targeting individuals could do irrevocable harm.”
The email stated that “accusations, speculation and conspiracies” online are “irresponsible, harmful and in some cases dangerous for the safety of individuals in our community.”
“It is not unusual as a safety measure to take steps to protect an individual’s safety when this kind of activity happens, including in regard to their online presence,” the statement read.
The clips appear in chronological order, with the first video showing the person of interest traveling south on Cooke Street at 2 p.m. on Saturday. In a video taken four minutes later, he walks east on George Street between Governor and Cook streets before turning around and walking west at 2:07 p.m.
At 2:08, the third clip captures the person of interest standing in front of the Rhode Island Historical Society. He is then seen walking west down George Street again at 2:13 p.m. in a fourth clip.
The fifth clip, which lacks a timestamp, shows the person of interest walking south on Hope Street between George and Benevolent streets. At 2:51, the same camera as the fourth clip captures the person of interest walking west down George Street again. In this video, the person of interest now wears a black bag.
The seventh and eighth clips, previously released by the PPD, capture the person of interest walking west at the corner of Cooke and Manning streets and then walking west on Manning toward Hope Street between 2:52 and 2:53 p.m.
Providence Police asked that the footage be “shared widely.”
Please share widely and contact the official tip line if you have… pic.twitter.com/mewBSflOiO
CAPS will be open until 5 p.m. for appointments or urgent care for students who are still on campus or in Rhode Island, the email read. Through the CAPS On Demand resource, students can connect students to a mental health clinician both “after hours and on the weekend.”
TimelyCare, a virtual platform with digital self-care content and scheduled counseling visits, can be found on the CAPS website, the email read.
In the coming weeks, Ford added that CAPS will “continue to communicate programming and other helpful information” for students.
The email noted that the Sharpe Refectory — Brown’s largest dining hall — will continue to be open from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. every day this week. The Blue Room, located in Stephen Robert ’62 Campus Center, will be closed for the remainder of the week, the email reads.
Late-night campus eatery Josiah’s will close at 10 p.m. today instead of its usual 2 a.m. closing time due to “a low number of late-night visitors in recent days.” The hours for the remainder of the week will be determined by tonight’s demand, the email reads.
All of Brown’s shuttle services — including the onCall and Access shuttle — will continue to operate on their usual schedule, the email added.
The code BROWNU2025_DEC can be used once per person and is available until Dec. 21, Reddick wrote in a message to The Herald.
Staff from The Brown Daily Herald
