Brown University gunman at large after shooting leaves two dead

María Paula Mijares Torres, Bloomberg News on Dec 13, 2025

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A shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island has left two people dead and nine injured, with a manhunt underway for the attacker.

The shooting occurred in a classroom on the second day of final exams for the fall semester at the Ivy League institution, which has a student population of about 11,000. The male suspect was dressed in black and left the building on foot, officials said.

“Our top priority right now is to keep people safe” and the best way is to catch the shooter, Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee told Bloomberg News. There is an “all-out search” involving every level of government, he said, adding he had spoken to President Donald Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel.

He asked Rhode Island residents to reach out to local police if they have information about the shooter.

At a news conference late Saturday, authorities said a video will be released with an image of the suspect. Police say the video won’t show the face of the suspect, with some witnesses saying the gunman was wearing a camouflage gray mask.

Brown University President Christina Paxson said she was informed the two who died and at least eight of those injured were students. Conditions of the injured vary from stable to critical, according to Kelly Brennan, senior public relations officer at Rhode Island Hospital. The ninth victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to make a full recovery.

Brown University alerted an active-shooter situation on campus at about 4:20 pm New York time and told students to shelter in place.

Brown Provost Francis J. Doyle III said most campus buildings must be accessed with a card swipe after hours but there was a lot of foot traffic in and out of the building because of the exams.

The external doors to the building were unlocked at the time of the shooting, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said at the press conference.

Officials said the FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting Providence and university police. No weapon has been recovered after authorities searched the Barus and Holley engineering building, where exams were being conducted.

“What a terrible thing it is,” Trump told reporters as he returned to the White House from the Army-Navy football game in Baltimore. “All we can do right now is pray for the victims. It’s a shame.”

Brown has been led by Paxson, an economist, since 2012. Brown is a top employer in the state of Rhode Island, with nearly 5,500 employees.

The school in July reached an agreement with the Trump administration to restore research funding. Brown said it will pay $50 million over the next decade to support workforce development programs in its home state of Rhode Island.

(Janet Lorin, Tamsin McMahon and Greg Ryan contributed.)