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Authorities are asking the public for any footage of the gunman who shot and killed two students and wounded nine others at Brown University, even as they released a new video timeline and a slightly clearer image of a possible suspect.
Investigators gave no indication Tuesday that they were any closer to identifying him. In all videos made public, the suspect’s face was masked or turned away, and authorities have been able to provide only a vague description of him as being of build and about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 cm) tall.
officials are canvassing here and there Thrift Looking for clues that could help them find out who was behind Saturday’s campus shooting.
surveillance video FBI It was posted online before being removed and showed a man in black walking on several footpaths for about an hour after 2pm on Saturday. The streets were within a few blocks of the Brown University Engineering Building where the shooting occurred.
Some clips show the man walking past certain properties multiple times. In one, when someone approaches the person suddenly turns and runs away in the other direction.
Two The clip, taken minutes after the shooting, shows the man walking away from the parking lot and then down the street.
Officials ask for help from the public
Police Nearly 200 tips have been received, and Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez on Tuesday asked the public to check their camera systems in the area to see if they had footage that could help authorities identify the suspected gunman.
“We’re looking for a moment that’s smaller than someone taking a breath,” Perez said.
The lack of cameras and clear video of the gunman continues to frustrate both authorities and the community. While Brown President Christina Paxson confirmed Tuesday that there are 1,200 cameras on campus, law enforcement says there is no clear video of the shooter from inside the engineering building.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, defending, said the investigation was going “really well” and appealed to the public for patience as the suspected killer was found.
Major questions remain, particularly about the shooter’s motive. When Neronha was pressed about ethnicity, political motives or connection to culture, he said, “That’s a dangerous path to go down.”
seek solace
Brown alumnus Chris Kramer joined about 200 others at a solemn church service on campus for the victims Tuesday. He lives a short distance from the scene and frequently visits the building where the shooting took place. Many in the community are wondering how easily they could have gotten in the shot, he said.
He said that it is better to participate in the service than to sit alone and scroll on your phone, sad and dejected.
“It’s always good to be somewhere high up when you’re thinking about big ideas,” Kramer said. “I think people have found it as a balm for thousands of years, so I’m hoping a little bit of it will do the trick for me tonight.”
campus security
The attack and the shooter’s escape have raised questions about campus security, including the lack of cameras, and led to calls for better locks on campus doors.
Paxson said the university has two security systems in place. A system activated during the emergency sent text messages, phone calls and emails that reached 20,000 people. The second system has three sirens throughout the complex and was not activated Saturday, a decision Paxson defended because doing so would have sent people running into buildings, including where the shooting was taking place.
“So this is not a system we would ever use in an active shooter case,” she said.
Brown’s website says sirens can be used when there is an active shooter, but Paxson said it “depends on the circumstances” and the location of the shooter.
a city on the edge
Providence remained tense Tuesday as extra police were sent to city schools to reassure worried parents that their children would be safe. District Superintendent Javier Montanez said ten state troopers were assigned to support police sent to increase security at the schools.
Providence Public Schools canceled after-school activities and field trips for a week as a precaution.
As the investigation continued on Tuesday, local people expressed fear as well as protest.
“Sure it sounds scary. But at the same time, I think if that person really wants to scare us, we shouldn’t allow them to win,” said Tatjana Stojanovic, a Providence parent who lives next to the Brown campus.
Others say that focusing on security measures does not solve the real problem.
“The issue isn’t about the doors, it’s about the guns,” said senior Zoe Kass, who fled the engineering building after the police attack on Saturday.
Having spent his life in schools where every door was locked and school shootings frequently occurred, Kass said such security measures only created an “illusion of security”.
Complete picture of victims emerges
Details have emerged about the victims, who were studying for finals in a first floor classroom in the school’s engineering building.
Brown spokeswoman Amanda McGregor said the two injured students had been released by Tuesday. Mayor Brett Smiley said of the seven people hospitalized, one was in critical condition, five were in serious but stable condition and one was in stable condition.
One of the injured students is 18-year-old freshman Spencer Yang new york citytold The New York Times and Brown’s Daily Herald that a massive scuffle broke out after the gunman entered the room. Yang said he fell to the ground between some seats and was shot in the leg.
Jacob Spears, an 18-year-old newcomer from Evans, Georgia, was shot in the stomach, “but through sheer adrenaline and courage, he managed to run outside, where he received assistance from others,” according to a GoFundMe site organized for him.
Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore who was one of two students killed, was vice president of the Brown College Republicans and was beloved at her church in Birmingham, Alabama.
The second student killed was Muhammadaziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman from Brandermill, Virginia, who was majoring in biochemistry and neuroscience. His family immigrated to America from Uzbekistan when he was a child.
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Associated Press reporters Jennifer McDermott, Matt O’Brien and Robert F. Bukati was contributing; Brian Slodysko in Washington; Michael Casey in Boston; Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; John Seaver in Toledo, Ohio; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; and Audrey McEvoy in Honolulu.
