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Hundreds of police officers were patrolling every nook and corner brown university The campus and surrounding areas are being searched for the shooter captured on video and who opened fire in the classroom, killing two people and wounding nine others.
Even after the firing in the engineering building on Saturday afternoon, the search continued till late night. Ivy League in school ThriftRhode Island, during final exams.
Surveillance video released by police shows the suspect, dressed in black, calmly leaving the scene. His face is not visible and investigators said it is unclear whether the suspect is a student.
Providence Police Deputy Chief Timothy O’Hara said the suspect was last seen leaving the engineering building and that some witnesses told police the suspect, believed to be in his 30s, may have been wearing a camouflage mask.
University President Christina Paxson said she was told the 10 people shot were students. He said another person was injured by the bullet but it was not clear whether the victim was a student.
The search for the attacker brought the campus, surrounding neighborhoods filled with stately brick homes, and downtown Rhode Island’s capital into chaos. The streets, usually bustling with activity on weekends, were eerily quiet.
The students remained hidden at various places for hours at night. Officers in tactical gear escorted students out of some campus buildings and into a fitness center where they waited. Others reached shelters by buses without jackets or any luggage.
mayor advised people to stay at home
Investigators were not immediately sure how the attacker got inside the first-floor classroom. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said the building’s exterior doors were opened but rooms being used for final exams required badge access.
He encouraged people living near the complex to stay inside or not return home until the shelter-in-place order is lifted.
“The heart of the Brown community is breaking and the heart of Providence is breaking with it,” Smiley said.
Authorities believe the shooter used a handgun, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
democratic Governor Dan McKee vowed that all resources were being deployed to capture the suspect. Rhode Island has some of the strictest gun laws in America
Nine people were taken to Rhode Island Hospital with gunshot wounds, where one remains in critical condition. Hospital spokeswoman Kelly Brennan said six required intensive care, but their condition was not worsening and two were in stable condition.
Exams were going on during the shooting
Engineering design exams were underway when the shooting occurred at the Baras & Holley Building, a seven-story complex that houses the School of Engineering and the Physics department. According to the university’s website, the building contains more than 100 laboratories, dozens of classrooms and offices.
Emma Ferraro, a chemical engineering student, was working on a final project in the building’s lobby when she heard loud noises coming from the east side. Once she realized they were gunshots, she bolted for the door and ran into a nearby building where she took refuge for several hours.
Former ‘Survivor’ contestant just left the building
Eva Erickson, a doctoral candidate who was runner-up earlier this year on the CBS reality competition show “Survivor,” said she left her lab in the engineering building 15 minutes before shots rang out.
The engineering and thermal science student shared candid moments on “Survivor” as the show’s first openly autistic contestant. She was confined to the campus gym after the shooting and shared on social media that the only other member of her lab who was there was evacuated safely.
Alex Bruce, a senior biochemistry student at Brown, was working on a final research project in his dorm right across the street from the building when he heard sirens outside.
“I’m just shivering here,” he said, looking out the window as armed officers surrounded his hostel.
students hid under desks
Chiangheng Chien, an engineering doctoral student who lives about a block from the scene, said students in a nearby lab turned off the lights and hid under desks after receiving an alert about the shooting.
Mary Camara, a 20-year-old junior from New York City, was coming out of the library and went inside a taqueria to seek shelter. He spent more than three hours there, texting friends while police searched the premises.
“Everyone is just like me, shocked and horrified that something like this happened,” he said.
Brown, America’s seventh-oldest institution of higher education, is one of the nation’s most prestigious colleges, with approximately 7,300 undergraduate and more than 3,000 graduate students. According to the university, tuition, housing and other fees are approximately $100,000 per year.
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Associated Press reporters Alana Durkin Richer, Mike Balsamo and Seung Min Kim in Washington, Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City, Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, Martha Belisle in Seattle and John Seaver in Toledo, Ohio contributed.