PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — With the Brown University shooter still on the loose Tuesday, police fanned out to Providence schools to reassure parents, kids and teachers as investigators pushed for new evidence that might help them crack the case.
Here’s a look at what to know about the attack and the search:
Search on after new video and description of suspect
Police have released five videos of the man suspected in Saturday’s attack in an engineering building classroom, where two students were killed and nine were wounded. None of the videos showed the man’s face, which was either turned away or masked. The FBI described the suspect as stocky and about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 centimeters) tall.
The gunman fired more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha told MS Now that an “enhanced photograph” would soon be released. “We have a good picture of the gunman’s route, but it’s not complete yet,” he said.
Authorities on Sunday released a person of interest after determining he wasn’t behind the attack, which happened in a first-floor classroom where students were cramming for an exam. Providence police spokeswoman Kristy dosReis said the man’s detention didn’t affect the ongoing investigation.
Police fan out to local schools
Tensions remain high in Providence. Ten state troopers were assigned to support the local police sent to beef up security at schools, district Superintendent Javier Montañez said.
The attack and the shooter’s escape also have raised questions about campus security, including a lack of security cameras, and led to calls for better locks on campus doors. But some said what they called the real issue needs to be addressed.
“The issue isn’t the doors, it’s the guns,” said Zoe Kass, a senior who fled the engineering building Saturday. “And all of this, like, ‘Oh, the doors need to be locked.’ I get it, parents are scared. But any of us could have opened the door for the guy if the doors had been locked.”
Authorities have said that one reason they lacked video of the shooter was because Brown’s engineering building doesn’t have many cameras.
Details about the victims emerge
Only one of the wounded students had been released as of Sunday, Brown President Christina Paxson said. One was in critical condition and the other seven were in critical but stable condition. Their conditions hadn’t worsened as of Monday, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said.
One of the wounded, 18-year-old freshman Spencer Yang of New York City, told the New York Times and the Brown Daily Herald there was a scramble after the gunman entered the room. Many students ran toward the front, but Yang said he wound up on the ground and was shot in the leg.
The students who died were MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman from Brandermill, Virginia, and Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore from a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. Umurzokov was an aspiring neurosurgeon and Cook was a student leader of Brown’s campus Republicans.
Jacob Spears, 18, a freshman from Evans, Georgia, was shot in the stomach, “but through sheer adrenaline and courage, he managed to run outside, where he was aided by others,” according to a GoFundMe site organized for him.
Students support each other
Levi Neuwirth, a Brown senior, said anxiety is high on campus. But he said students and the rest of the Brown community have been supporting each other and displaying extra kindness.
“Campus is on edge, mourning, grieving, processing, all of the above that folks would expect,” said Neuwirth, of Wallkill, New York. “But I would really highlight that the major sentiment I feel and I know many of my peers feel is a strong sense of community, of love. We have each other’s backs.”
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Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Contributing were Associated Press reporters Kimberlee Kruesi, Amanda Swinhart, Robert F. Bukaty and Jennifer McDermott in Providence; Michael Casey in Boston; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; Kathy McCormack and Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and Alanna Durkin Richer, Mike Balsamo and Eric Tucker in Washington.
