What we're covering
• A manhunt continues into a third day in the deadly mass shooting at Brown University after a person of interest detained in connection with the attack was released, Providence, Rhode Island, Mayor Brett Smiley said. Evidence “now points in a different direction,” state Attorney General Peter Neronha said, without offering details.
• The shooting left two students dead and nine others injured at the Ivy League school, where classes and exams have been canceled. At a Sunday vigil in a nearby park, the mayor urged residents to come together and “shine a little bit of light.”
• The carnage followed at least 75 school shootings in the United States this year. So far in 2025, there have been at least 391 mass shootings and 13,929 shooting deaths nationwide, Gun Violence Archive reports.
Brown student says when classes resume things will be “a lot different from now on"
The Brown community is on edge from the whiplash of hearing a person of interest was in custody for shooting, then learning he was released – and Brown senior Anika Mahns knows once classes resume after winter break, things on campus won’t be the same.
“I think that things are going to be a lot different from now on, just security-wise,” Mahns told CNN’s John Berman this morning in Providence. “I’m just hoping that they are able to learn a little more on how we can keep the campus safer … I think even just walking out of my house is going to feel different.”
Mahns said she was with friends watching the news conference when officials announced the man police had called a person of interest was being released.
“It’s obviously shocking, but also just, like, very disappointing and scary. I think all of us are just trying to get out of this area as soon as possible,” Mahns, who plans to fly out of Rhode Island today, told Berman.
“I think scared is the only way to put it … I think a lot of people are very paranoid, too, rightfully so,” Mahns said. “It’s just hard to be able to walk around and live your life knowing that someone’s out there.”
When the shooting took place, Mahns was working the front desk at the gym, which ended up being somewhere where people ran to for cover. Mahns worked with colleagues to make sure everyone got inside safely, then barricaded the doors.
“I think that it took some time for me to process what was happening,” Mahns said. “My first thought was just like, since I am working here at the gym where there’s around 150 people, my first priority is just to make sure that I’m following protocols and making sure I’m doing what I can to make sure everyone is safe.”
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley told CNN there have been no credible threats in the area since the shooting late afternoon Saturday.
There continues to be no threat to the public, Providence mayor says
Despite an unidentified killer on the loose and an ongoing manhunt in the wake of the shooting at Brown University, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said students at Brown and people in Providence are safe.
“We don’t believe that there is an imminent threat to public safety here in the city of Providence, and there is, in fact, an enhanced police presence throughout the city,” Smiley said Monday morning.
The mayor said there have been no credible threats since the shooting late afternoon Saturday.
“There’s been no additional either threat or act of violence that has occurred since the horrific incident a day and a half ago,” Smiley said.
But that doesn’t mean the community isn’t on edge.
Smiley said there have been “several” false calls reported, which police took seriously, but were deemed unfounded.
Students at Brown have told CNN they “don’t feel safe” and many people are “very paranoid.”
As the search for the shooter continues, investigators across local, state and federal agencies are working well together, according to Smiley.
“The boots on the ground here are all professionals. They have a preexisting and long-standing relationship, and everyone is focused on the task at hand in doing their job,” Smiley said. “Of course, they’re getting tired. There hasn’t been a lot of sleep in the last two days.”
Rhode Island’s colleges and universities move exams online after deadly Brown shooting
Some of the largest colleges and universities across Rhode Island have moved exams online today after the deadly shooting on Saturday at Brown University that killed two and injured nine.
The University of Rhode Island, the state’s largest public university with more than 17,000 students, posted on campus exams would be canceled for the day, noting there was no threat on their campuses in Kingston, Providence and Narragansett Bay.
The Community College of Rhode Island, the largest community college with more than 12,000 students, also canceled in-person exams for Monday, noting no threat. Its campuses will remain open. The community college’s largest campus in Lincoln is less than eight miles away from Providence, where the shooting took place.
Bryant University said students could opt out of taking in-person exams scheduled today, suggesting faulty could accommodate students with possible options such as online exams, oral presentations or moving the in-person exam to a later date.
The cancellations come after Brown University canceled its final exams, papers and projects on Sunday following the shooting.
Alabama church identifies parishioner as one of Brown University victims
An Alabama church says one of its parishioners was killed in the Brown University shooting that took place on Saturday.
Ella Cook was identified as one of the victims by the Cathedral Church of Advent during service on Sunday and was described as a “faithful bright light.”
“Some of you haven’t heard, a lot of you had heard, the tragedy yesterday at Brown University, the shooting of a number of people, and tragically, one of our parishioners, Ella Cook, was one of those who was killed yesterday,” a church leader said during Sunday’s service.
“She was an incredible, grounded, faithful bright light,” a church leader added. “Not only here growing up at the Advent and the myriad ways in which she served faithfully, in the ways in which she encouraged and lift up those around her, but at Brown University, she was an incredible light in that particular place as well.”
The College Republicans of America also shared a statement about Cook, as she was the Brown University College Republicans Vice President.
“Ella was known for her bold, brave, and kind heart as she served her chapter and her fellow classmates. Our prayers are with her family, our Brown CR’s, and the entirety of the campus as they heal from this tragedy,” Martin Bertao, the President of College Republicans of America, shared in a statement on social media.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared the College Republicans of America post on social media, adding, “There are no words. Thinking of her family and friends, especially her parents. God please bless them.”
Video released is the "clearest picture" authorities have of shooting suspect, mayor says
Officials have no new updates to share on the investigation into Saturday’s shooting at Brown University as of this morning, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley told CNN.
Smiley said the video released to the public is the “clearest picture we have of the individual we believe to be responsible. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t other evidence.”
Smiley added, “There was still a lot of evidence collected at the crime scene and throughout the investigation over the last nearly two days.”
He said the release of the person of interest was a setback in terms of morale for the Providence community and students at Brown University but not “necessarily in terms of the investigation, as I said, the investigation was continuing.”
Smiley said law enforcement continued their investigation into the shooting while simultaneously looking into the person of interest.
“We did not devote all of our focus to that. We certainly wanted to explore it because we had credible information that was worthy of full examination. But other aspects of the investigation remained at full speed while that lead was being explored,” Smiley said.
“I think we all got our hopes up that maybe this was the person and so there’s, there’s more of an emotional setback that has occurred as we’ve had to refocus, to realize that still have, you know, hopefully hours, but maybe days or more ahead,” Smiley said.
The mayor added he is focused on providing some assurance to his community.
"I don’t feel safe here,” Brown University student says
Cole Francis, a senior at Brown University, told CNN he does not feel safe on campus knowing that the shooter who carried out Saturday’s deadly shooting is still on the loose after a person of interest was released by authorities yesterday.
Francis, who was inside the Barus and Holley building when the shooter open fired, said the situation is “terrifying.”
“I think that a lot of people found a lot of relief in knowing that the authorities had caught this person and recovered the weapons that this person may have used. And now to know that he may still be on the street is, is extremely scary and worrisome for a lot of people,” he told CNN’s John Berman today.
Francis said he had been studying inside the engineering building most of the day when he heard popping noises.
He didn’t find out exactly what happened until he made it back to his off-campus apartment.
Francis said he had planned to travel home the following Saturday, but is now trying to “get out of Providence as soon as I can.”
Brown University: Timeline of attack and investigation
Saturday
- Around 4 p.m.: The deadly shooting takes place at the Barus and Holley building at Brown University, according to Providence Mayor Brett Smiley.
- 4:05 p.m.: The first 911 call was reported, Smiley said. Providence fire chief Derek Silva said his team was dispatched to the area for an active shooter at the same time.
- 4:22 p.m.: The university released its first emergency alert about an active shooter.
- 5:35 p.m. Saturday: Providence Police said multiple people were shot in the Brown University area in a post on X.
- 5:45 p.m. President Donald Trump said he had been briefed on the shooting in a post on Truth Social, also posted to the White House’s X account.
- 6:35 p.m. Saturday: A Brown University alert reveals two people have died and eight others are hospitalized in critical but stable condition.
- Evening: Brown University is in lockdown, as students and those in the surrounding area are urged to shelter in place.
- Night: The manhunt continues into the night.
Sunday
- Early morning.: Authorities detain a person of interest in connection with the shooting at a Providence-area hotel early Sunday morning.
- Later in the morning: Smiley met with the victims who remained hospitalized Sunday morning. A ninth person is treated for injuries.
- Afternoon: A revolver and a small Glock handgun with a laser sight attached were found in the hotel room of the person detained in connection to the Brown University shooting, according to multiple federal law enforcement sources.
- Evening: A community gathering is held in Providence in honor of the shooting victims.
- Evening: Authorities release the person of interest they detained in the morning, saying the evidence “now points in a different direction.”
Authorities face challenges tracking down Brown shooter "every minute that goes by"
Investigators leading the manhunt for an unknown suspect who killed two Brown University students and injured nine more must contend with a gunman with a head start and seemingly limited video evidence.
The shooting unfolded around 4 p.m. Saturday when exams were taking place, according to Providence Mayor Brett Smiley.
Authorities took a person of interest into custody, but it was ultimately concluded the person needed to be released, the mayor said, and the search for the suspect continued.
“Every minute that goes by that you haven’t identified who that person is, you get a little further behind, and the chances of solving this quickly and putting that person into custody get a little smaller with every minute, every hour, every day that goes by,” CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst Andrew McCabe told CNN’s John Berman in Providence.
By Monday morning, the investigation appeared to be back at square one.
“They have to start over as if this incident just happened moments ago,” McCabe added.
Because exams and exam prep were taking place, the exterior doors of the Brown University buildings were unlocked, according to the mayor.
“Anybody could have accessed the building at that time,” said Smiley.
The mayor said many surveillance cameras are around on the college campus, but on Monday told ABC investigators have only “a small, short clip of video footage,” of who they believe is their suspect.
“We know that they have very little relevant video to assist them in identifying who the shooter is,” McCabe said. “So they’re really going to have to go back to basics.”
At a news conference Sunday, Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar L. Perez Jr. declined to answer questions about security cameras in the engineering building where the shooting took place.
Providence Deputy Chief of Police Tim O’Hara urged residents in the area of the shooting to review doorbell camera footage for “anything that looks suspicious.”
At least 2 Brown University students had been through a school shooting before
For nine hours over the weekend, students at Brown University crouched under desks and behind locked doors, making panicked phone calls and sending “I love you” texts that felt dangerously close to goodbyes.
For some, the deadly incident was a familiar experience.
Zoe Weissman was in middle school when she witnessed the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead. “I think the sadness will set in when we get all the victims identified and find out who we lost as a community,” Weissman told CNN. “But right now, I’m just angry that there are kids like me in this country who have had to go through this not once but twice.”
Mia Tretta, a junior at Brown University, survived the 2019 Saugus High School shooting in Santa Clarita, California. Tretta was shot in the stomach and lives with lasting physical complications. When her phone first buzzed with an alert warning of a shooter in Brown’s engineering building, she initially dismissed it. “I didn’t really think it was real,” she said. “Unfortunately,” she said, “gun violence doesn’t care if you’ve already been shot in a school shooting.”
CNN’s TuAnh Dam, Danya Gainor, Effie Nidam, Brian Todd, Leigh Waldman, Emma Tucker, Zoe Sottile, John Miller, Evan Perez, Maureen Chowdhury, Sharif Paget, Chris Boyette, Dalia Abdelwahab, Lauren Mascarenhas, Riane Lumer, Taylor Galgano, Curt Devine, Allison Gordon, and Yahya Abou-Ghazala contributed to this report.
The investigation into the Brown University shooting continues Monday
The manhunt continues for the shooter suspected in the attack that killed two students and left nine others injured Saturday afternoon, after a person of interest was released overnight.
Here’s what we know:
- Law enforcement officials released a man who they had detained in connection with the shooting, saying the “evidence now points in a different direction.”
- Investigators believe there was just one person responsible for the attack, according to Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, who said there have been no credible threats to the university or surrounding town.
- After shifting from the original person of interest who was released, investigators will have to take a fresh look at the evidence and restart the investigation, CNN Law Enforcement Analyst and former FBI Special agent Steve Moore said.
- A surveillance video from Saturday afternoon which appears to show the suspect leaving the area remains a key piece of evidence for investigators.
- In the meantime, classes at Brown University have been canceled for the rest of the semester, as the Providence community comes together to support the victims and mourn the lives lost to the attack.
NBA head coach on guns: "It's on us to decide if we actually want to take action as a country, as citizens"
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr – well known for his support of gun restrictions – spoke to reporters unprompted for more than three minutes on the topic Sunday before his team’s road game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
“The loss that all of the people involved (Saturday) night, the loss that they’re feeling, is exactly the same loss as all the Parkland families, and every other mass shooting,” he said, referring to the 2018 Florida high school massacre.
“Nobody asked me about it today. I didn’t expect anybody to ask me. I doubt we’re going do a moment of silence out there because it’s human nature just to not want to deal with this stuff. And it’s human nature just to think, ‘This is so horrible. Let’s not even think about it.’ But we have to think about it,” said Kerr, whose father, Malcolm Kerr, was killed by gunmen in Beirut in 1984.
“The vast majority of gun owners in this country are responsible, law-abiding citizens,” Steve Kerr said. “They have every right to own a gun, but it’s on us to decide if we actually want to take action as a country, as citizens.”
Surveillance video shows shooting suspect leaving area, officials say
The search for the suspect in the Brown University shooting continues after a person of interest was released on Sunday. One of the key pieces of video evidence shows what police say is the shooting suspect leaving the area.
This surveillance video was released on Saturday after the shooting and shows and individual dressed in dark clothing near the university.
Providence police said this video shows what they believe to be the shooting suspect leaving the Barus and Holley building on campus.
“It’s of who we believe is the suspect leaving that area walking on Hope Street and taking a right on Waterman. He’s going to be wearing dark clothing. You are not going to be able to see his face,” Providence Deputy Police Chief Timothy O’Hara said in Saturday’s press conference.
Following the news of a person of interest being released, officials were asked again about this footage at a Sunday night press conference.
“What we saw in the video is the person we’re looking for, correct,” Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said.
Investigators convinced they’re looking for lone shooter in Brown attack
Local, state and federal authorities are confident they are looking for a sole gunman as the manhunt continues for the person responsible for the deadly shooting at Brown University as a person of interest previously in custody was released overnight.
“We do have a small, short clip of video footage that we do believe is the person that we’re looking for,” Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said this morning on ABC. “And right now we don’t have any evidence to suggest that it was more than that individual which has been seen in that video.”
The mayor reiterated that Brown students are safe and no credible threats have been received against the campus community or greater Providence.
“We have an enhanced police presence to try to give that comfort, that sense of security. And the search and the investigation is ongoing,” Smiley said.
As investigators continued to gather evidence, it was ultimately concluded that a person of interest taken into custody Sunday morning needed to be released, the mayor said.
“Until such time as we have an individual in custody who we’re confident is responsible, that we’re prepared to press charges and then prosecute. We’re going to continue to leave all doors open until such time as that we’re in a place where we feel confident that we’ve got the right person,” the mayor said.
Investigators need to start from square one, law enforcement analyst says
As the manhunt for a suspect in the Brown University shooting continues, following the release of a person of interest, authorities must now go back over all of the evidence.
“No investigation is perfect and you’re going to go through ups and downs,” CNN Law Enforcement Analyst and former FBI Special agent Steve Moore told Rosemary Church.
Moore said part of the solution now is to restart the investigation, because whatever led authorities to the person “was obviously an error.”
“So you pretty much have to throw out, not the evidence, but the conclusions from the evidence,” he said. “And you start, basically, as if you’re seeing the evidence for the first time and say ‘Where should this lead us?’”
Moore said it’s encouraging, however, that the shooter has not launched another attack –– and this should assure the community that there is no immediate threat.
“It would indicate to me that they didn’t have further plans for violence. So to me, it mitigates towards people having a reason to feel safer,” he said.
