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Authorities in Providence are actively looking for a suspect after multiple people were shot and killed at Brown University Saturday afternoon.
Information was initially conflicting after the shooting about if a suspect was in custody or not.
Brown University shooting suspect
The scene at Brown University after an active shooter alert was issued on Dec. 13, 2025. Courtesy: WPRI
Timeline:
The shooting was reported at 4:22 p.m. ET Saturday.
The Associated Press reported shortly after that the university was saying a suspect was in custody, but the university clarified at 5:11 p.m. ET that a suspect was not in custody.
At 5:44 p.m. ET, President Donald Trump posted on social media that a suspect was in custody, but at 6:03 p.m. ET posted again to say the Brown University Police reversed their previous statement and said a suspect was not in custody.
What they're saying:
Later on Saturday, during the first press briefing, Providence Mayor Brett P. Smiley offered context about the conflicting report.
"There was an individual who was preliminarily thought to be involved and was later determined to have no involvement, and that’s why we can confirm at this time, there is nobody in custody," he clarified, but didn't provide any other details.
Big picture view:
Smiley said two people were killed and nine others were critically injured in the shooting.
READ MORE: At least 2 dead, several injured in Brown University shooting; suspect not yet caught
Here is the latest information released from authorities about the suspect:
Saturday, 6:45 p.m. ET
Smiley and other Providence officials provided limited information about the suspect in their first press briefing:
- Described suspect as a man dressed in black
- Don’t know how suspect got into the Barus & Holley engineering building
- Said he left the building on Hope Street, and are unsure where he went from there
- Authorities don’t have an image of the suspect at this time
- Authorities are working on getting video footage from the Hope Street area
- Authorities believe there is only one shooting suspect
The Source: Information in this article was taken from Brown University and Providence city officials during a press conference on Dec. 13, 2025. This story was reported from Detroit.