Search for the Brown University shooter resumes as questions swirl about campus security

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Authorities knocked on doors Monday searching for video of the Brown University gunman, last known to be seen more than two days ago while walking away from the classroom attack that left two dead and nine wounded.

Police renewed their search after releasing a person of interest Sunday and determining the evidence pointed in a different direction.

The abrupt announcement marked a setback in the investigation of Saturday’s attack at the Ivy League school. Questions were mounting about campus security, the apparent lack of video evidence and whether the focus on the person of interest gave the killer more time to escape justice in the killing of a two students who were just starting their lives.

Providence residents and students were relieved early Sunday when officials said they had detained a man at a Rhode Island hotel in connection with the attack and lifted the lockdown. But that relief was short-lived, as Mayor Brett Smiley said hours later that investigators didn’t know whether the gunman was still in the area.

Colin Moussette, who has friends at Brown and is considering enrolling next fall, said while visiting the campus Monday that he felt uneasy knowing that the suspect has not been caught.

“How someone got away, like in the middle of the day is, to me, not only heartbreaking but very concerning,” he said. “How they got access to the building is concerning.”

The last known sighting of the gunman was minutes after shooting. Authorities released a short clip of video of the suspect walking away from the scene, but his face wasn’t visible.

The shooting happened in an auditorium-style classroom where students in a study group were preparing for an upcoming exam.

Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore who was vice president of the Brown College Republicans and beloved in her church in Birmingham, Alabama., was one of the students killed, according to her pastor at home.

In announcing her death Sunday, the Rev. R. Craig Smalley described Cook as “an incredible grounded, faithful, bright light” who encouraged and “lifted up those around her.”

“Ella was known for her bold, brave, and kind heart as she served her chapter and her fellow classmates,” Martin Bertao, the president of the club, said in a message posted on X.

The other student who was killed was MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman majoring in biochemistry and neuroscience. He was helping a friend at a review session for an economics final when he was fatally shot, his sister said.

As a child, Umurzokov suffered a neurological condition that required surgery, and he later wore a back brace because of scoliosis, said Samira Umurzokova, noting that the family immigrated to the U.S. from Uzbekistan when she, her brother and sister were young.

“He had so many hardships in his life, and he got into this amazing school and tried so hard to follow through with the promise he made when was 7 years old,” she told the AP by phone Monday.

The release of the person of interest left law enforcement without a known suspect, with officials pledging to redouble their efforts by asking neighborhood residents and businesses for video surveillance that might help identify the attacker.

“We have a murderer out there,” state Attorney General Peter Neronha said.

Authorities said Sunday that one of the reasons they lacked video of the shooter was because Brown’s engineering building doesn’t have many cameras.

The mayor said there have been no credible threats of further violence since the shooting, and the city’s schools were open Monday.

Colleges and universities, including in the Providence and some Ivy League schools, are increasing security in the wake of the shootings. Yale said extra security would also be in place for Hanukkah celebrations.

On Sunday morning, officials took into custody a person of interest at a Hampton Inn outside of Providence. Two people familiar with the matter identified that individual as a 24-year-old man from Wisconsin, though authorities never released his name.

Neronha said some evidence pointed to the man authorities detained, but further investigation pointed elsewhere.

The shooting occurred as final exams were underway at Brown, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious schools.

The gunman opened fire inside a classroom in the engineering building, getting off more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun, a law enforcement official told AP. Two handguns were recovered when the person of interest was taken into custody, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity.

Investigators were not immediately sure how the shooter got inside the first-floor classroom.

The attack set off hours of chaos on campus and in the surrounding neighborhoods, as hundreds of officers searched for the shooter. During the lockdown, which wasn’t lifted until Sunday, after the person of interest was taken into custody, many students barricaded there rooms and hid behind furniture and bookshelves.

Li Ding, a Rhode Island School of Design student who is on a dance team at Brown, was upset that there wasn’t better security on campus.

“The fact that we’re in such a surveillance state but that wasn’t used correctly at all is just so deeply frustrating,” Ding said.

One of the nine wounded students has been released from the hospital, Brown President Christina Paxson said Sunday. Seven others were in critical but stable condition, and one was in critical condition.

The mayor said he visited some wounded students and was inspired by their courage, hope and gratitude. “The resilience that these survivors showed and shared with me, is frankly pretty overwhelming,” Smiley said.

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Contributing were Associated Press journalists Jennifer McDermott and Matt O’Brien in Providence; Michael Casey in Boston; Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; and Alanna Durkin Richer, Mike Balsamo and Eric Tucker in Washington.