Deadly Shooting at US University Leaves Two Dead, Nine Injured
A gunman killed two and wounded nine at Brown University during exams, triggering a lockdown and massive manhunt for the suspect who remains at large.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The serene academic atmosphere of the Ivy League was shattered on Saturday afternoon when a gunman opened fire inside a building at Brown University, killing two people and wounding nine others in a brazen attack that has plunged the Rhode Island campus into a state of terror and lockdown.
As midnight approached, a massive manhunt involving hundreds of heavily armed police officers and federal agents continued across the darkened grounds of the university, with the suspect remaining at large hours after the violence erupted during a period of scheduled final examinations.
According to a detailed report by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the shooting occurred at the Barus and Holley building, a prominent facility housing the university’s engineering and physics departments.
The incident began late in the afternoon, transforming a day of academic focus into a chaotic scene of survival and emergency response. Authorities confirmed that two exams had been scheduled to take place within the building at the time the gunman struck, leaving students and faculty vulnerable in what is traditionally considered a sanctuary of learning.
The attack marks the latest chapter in the relentless epidemic of gun violence plaguing educational institutions in the United States, a crisis that continues to persist amidst a landscape of political deadlock regarding legislative restrictions on firearms access.
The scale of the law enforcement mobilization reflects the severity of the threat.
Six hours after the initial shots were fired, the gunman had yet to be apprehended, prompting a swarm of approximately 400 police personnel to descend upon the quaint New England campus.
The response force is a composite of local and federal power, ranging from campus police officers to agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
FBI Director Kash Patel stated on social media platform X that the bureau was providing "all capabilities necessary" to assist in the hunt for the perpetrator and the stabilization of the scene.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley provided the first official confirmation of the fatalities during a sombre news conference held as the search intensified.
Mayor Smiley confirmed that two individuals had died on Saturday afternoon. He further detailed the condition of the survivors, noting that eight of the wounded were in critical but stable condition, while a ninth individual, who had been struck by fragments from the shooting, was also transported to the hospital for treatment.
In a late-night briefing that underscored the tragedy's impact on the university community, Brown University President Christina Paxson revealed that ten of the 11 victims were students.
The terrifying moments when the violence began were recounted by witnesses who found themselves in the proximity of the attack.
Katie Sun, a student, told the Brown Daily Herald student newspaper that she was studying in a nearby building when the distinct sound of gunfire disrupted the quiet. Sun described a scene of panic as she fled to her dormitory, abandoning all her belongings in a desperate bid for safety.
She noted that the shots seemed to be emanating from the area where the classrooms are located, a detail that aligns with police reports that the gunman opened fire inside a first-floor classroom.
In an effort to identify and locate the suspect, police released a brief, ten-second clip of surveillance footage.
The video depicts the suspect walking briskly down a deserted street, seen only from behind, shortly after the shooting. Law enforcement officials have described the suspect as a man dressed entirely in black.
Despite the video evidence and the massive dragnet, authorities admitted that the gunman was last seen leaving the Barus and Holley building and that no weapon had yet been recovered, heightening the urgency of the "shelter in place" orders that remain in effect.
The university administration acted swiftly to alert the campus community as the situation unfolded.
An emergency alert was transmitted at 4:22 p.m. local time, warning of "an active shooter near Barus and Holley Engineering." The directive to students and staff was stark and unequivocal: "Lock doors, silence phones and stay hidden until further notice."
As night fell, university officials stressed that the campus remained under a strict lockdown, with residents urged to take the warnings with the utmost seriousness. Deputy Police Chief Timothy O'Hara emphasized the volatility of the situation, urging the public to stay away from the area as teams utilized every possible resource to track down the suspect.
The streets surrounding the university, typically filled with students and faculty, were instead choked with emergency vehicles and first responders.
Local news station WPRI reported harrowing visuals from the scene, describing clothing and blood staining the sidewalk outside the affected building, a grim testament to the violence that had transpired.
Reaction from the highest levels of the United States government was immediate. President Donald Trump was briefed on the shooting and expressed his condolences.
"What a terrible thing it is," the President said, adding that "all we can do right now is pray for the victims."
Meanwhile, Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse took to social media to express his grief, noting the particularly cruel timing of the attack. "My heart breaks for the students who were looking forward to a holiday break and instead are dealing with another horrifying mass shooting," he posted on X.
The tragedy at Brown University, which serves a student body of approximately 11,000, has reignited the national conversation regarding school safety and gun control, although the path to legislative change remains fraught.
The incident evokes painful memories of past tragedies, including the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history at Virginia Tech in 2007, where 32 people were killed.
As the investigation continues into the night, the focus remains on the apprehension of the suspect and the medical fight of the survivors, while a prestigious institution grapples with the violation of its campus and the loss of its students.