An active shooter has left at least two people dead and at least eight injured at Brown University campus after a suspect opened fire inside a building on campus.
The Ivy League college in Providence, Rhode Island remains in lockdown as the suspected gunman remains at large following the shooting on Saturday evening.
Officials said at a press conference at least two people lost their lives in the shooting and at least eight more victims were hospitalized in critical condition.
The terrifying incident unfolded near the Barus and Holley Engineering building, according to an alert sent out by the university at 4:22pm local time.
In an update from the university at 5:11pm, officials said that a suspect was not in custody and police are continuing to search for the shooter. Officials previously reported that a suspect was in custody earlier in the evening.
Police said at the press conference that the suspect opened fire inside the engineering building, and had fled the scene by the time officers arrived and swept the scene.
The suspect is described only as a ‘male in black clothing’, and remains at large.
Conflicting reports from the chaotic scene also claimed a secondary shooting occurred blocks away from the campus around an hour after the initial shooting. Brown University said in an update that those reports were ‘unfounded.’
A heavy law enforcement response descended on the campus, and the Trump administration said FBI and ATF agents were on the scene.
A shooter targeted Brown University on Saturday
A large law enforcement response was seen at the scene soon after shots were reportedly fired at the campus
The Daily Mail approached Brown University and Providence Police for comment.
Students have been urged to remain sheltered in place amid conflicting reports that the suspect was in custody, which were later walked back by officials.
The shooting unfolded as students were taking their final exams, local media outlets said.
President Donald Trump said on Truth Social he had been briefed on the shooting and the FBI were on the scene.
The president initially said a suspect was in custody, but walked back his statement and said in a follow up post: ‘The Brown University Police reversed their previous statement — The suspect is NOT in custody.’
Witnesses told WJAR that a huge law enforcement response descended on the scene, and they saw first responders performing CPR on at least three victims.
‘I started seeing a bunch of cars going towards the scene and I saw someone on the ground, unfortunately. It looked like they were getting CPR,’ said Providence resident Jib Daya.
‘I saw about two people getting carried away on the stretcher.’
Images showed students sheltering in place as the Brown University campus was plunged into lockdown
Students were told to ‘RUN, HIDE AND FIGHT’ as the active shooter alerts were issued
In an update from the university at 5:11pm, officials said that a suspect was not in custody and police are continuing to search for the shooter. Officials previously reported that a suspect was in custody earlier in the evening
President Donald Trump said on Truth Social he had been briefed on the shooting and the FBI were on the scene. The President appeared to reference earlier reports that the suspect was in custody, and later walked back the statement
Daya said the Brown campus area is known as a quiet, safe community, and hoped such a tragedy would ‘never come’ to those affected.
‘Now it’s over here… it’s very scary because I don’t want to get harmed and I don’t want my people in my state to get harmed,’ he said.
The shooting marks more than 70 school shootings this year, per the Gun Violence Archive.
This is a developing story and will be updated as information is confirmed.
