Brown Shooting: Man Released, No Charges Filed

Providence, Rhode Island – Authorities have released the man previously held as a person of interest in the Brown University shooting that left two students dead and nine injured. The decision came Sunday night as the investigation shifted, officials said.

Brown University Shooting Investigation Update

Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez stated earlier Sunday that a man in his 20s had been taken into custody in connection with Saturday’s shooting. However, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and other officials announced hours later that the man would be released.

“We have not yet solved this case, but I am confident we are going to do that in the near future,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said.

Officials declined to detail the initial reasons for detaining the individual. Neronha explained that “a quantum of evidence” initially justified the detention, but investigators later determined “no basis to believe that he’s a person of interest,” leading to his release.

Authorities are now focusing on an unidentified person seen in surveillance footage. FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that the initial person of interest was detained in a hotel room in Coventry, Rhode Island, approximately 30 minutes from the Brown campus, using geolocation data from cellular analysis.

Despite the ongoing search, authorities decided not to reimpose a shelter-in-place order that had previously been lifted for the campus and surrounding community.

The shooting is the latest in nearly 400 mass shootings in the U.S. this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Brown University has cancelled exams and classes for the remainder of the year, and the campus was quiet Sunday as a light snowfall covered the city.

Mayor Smiley noted that authorities were still in the process of notifying all of the victims’ families, as some were traveling. He also invited residents to a previously scheduled event to light a Christmas tree and a menorah to mark the first night of Hanukkah, stating, “It is quite clear that if we can come together as a community and shine a little bit of light tonight, I think there’s nothing better that we could be doing.”