The university said a shelter-in-place order remains in effect.
Two people are dead and nine others were injured during a shooting on the Brown University campus in Rhode Island on Saturday night.
Kelly Brennan, a spokesperson for the hospital where the victims were taken, said in an update late Saturday night that six of the eight reported to be in critical condition earlier are in critical but stable condition. One remains in critical condition and one is stable.
“Rhode Island Hospital is working closely with and providing support to all impacted family members, and remains in continuous communication with Brown University,” Brennan said in a statement. “Rhode Island Hospital is in lockdown at this time but is still accepting emergency department patients.”
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said during a press conference at 9:30 p.m. ET that a ninth person had been injured during the shooting. Their injuries are not life-threatening.
“There was one additional victim who had left the scene,” he said. “It was not a gunshot wound. The individual learned that they had received fragments from the shooting that had occurred near them.”
Smiley said that the shelter in place remains in effect for the Brown University campus and its surrounding neighborhoods, with the suspect still at large.
He reassured members of the community that there are 400 officers active in the area to ensure the safety of the community.
“We know there’s a lot of fear and anxiety in the community right now, and we want folks to know that while it is the case that the shelter in place remains in effect … we are doing everything we can, and we’ve been receiving tremendous assistance from our partners in law enforcement,” Smiley said, adding that the fire department, the governor, the FBI, and ATF are assisting.
“We have no reason to believe that there are any additional threats at this time,” he said.
Law enforcement has also completed searches of all the buildings in the area where students called police to report that they didn’t feel safe.
“We’ve made sure that students that barricaded themselves in were safe. We removed them, and they’re now in a reunification center,” the mayor said.
Authorities are now seeking the assistance of the public in finding the suspect, and footage from the shooting inside of a classroom in the Barus & Holley engineering building, looking toward Hope Street, is being released.
“We will be releasing a short video showing an image of the suspect that will be available to all of you when we finish this briefing,” Smiley said.
Anyone who believes they may have relevant information is asked to call the Providence Police non-emergency line on 401-272-3121.
The suspect has been identified as male and could be in his 30s, Providence Deputy Police Chief Tim O’Hara said.
O’Hara said the footage is of a person believed to be the suspect leaving the building and “walking on Hope Street and taking a right on Waterman towards the water.”
“He’s going to be wearing dark clothing, you’re not going to be able to see his face—dark gray or black clothing. And some of the witnesses have also told us that he may have been wearing a camouflage gray mask. That is unconfirmed. But if anybody should recognize this person in any way, seen him earlier, recognize his gait, obviously we want to know about that,” the deputy police chief said.
The weapon has not been found.
The mayor urged residents to trust official updates that will be posted throughout the night on the City of Providence social media channels and the 311 system, warning that “misinformation that can spread.”
In an earlier update at 6:33 p.m., Brown University confirmed that multiple shooting victims had been evacuated to area hospitals..
Authorities also said that due to exams taking place at Brown, the outer doors of the seven-story Barus & Holley Building were unlocked, but there were doors inside the building that were locked and required badge access.
“Our capital city experienced an unthinkable tragedy today. Our hearts are with the people of Providence and all those impacted,” Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee said in a statement on Saturday evening.
President Donald Trump was in attendance at the annual Army vs. Navy football game in Baltimore at the time of the shooting. As the incident unfolded, the president indicated he had been briefed on the situation.
Trump left the game early to return to the White House.
“I’ve been fully briefed on the Brown University situation. What a terrible thing it is. All we can do right now is pray for the victims and for those that were very badly hurt,” Trump said in comments to reporters shortly after the presidential helicopter landed at the White House.
By Ryan Morgan
