Brown University shooting person of interest identified

COVENTRY, R.I. — Authorities have identified the person of interest detained in connection with Saturday’s deadly shooting at Brown University as a 24-year-old man from Wisconsin, according to officials familiar with the investigation.

Law enforcement sources say the man was detained early Sunday morning at the Hampton Inn on Center of New England Boulevard in Coventry, approximately 15 to 20 miles from the Brown University campus. He was later transported back to Providence as the investigation continues.

The shooting occurred Saturday afternoon inside Barus and Holley, an engineering and physics building near Thayer Street, as students were taking  final exams. Police say a gunman opened fire inside the building, killing two students and injuring nine others. Brown University President Christina Paxson confirmed all of the victims were students.

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said one student has been discharged from the hospital, another remains in critical but stable condition, and the remaining injured students are listed in stable condition. Officials have not released the victims’ identities pending family notification.

Witnesses described chaotic moments inside the building, with one engineering student recounting hiding under a lab desk until police searched the room.

The FBI had joined the investigation, deploying teams to analyze cellphone location data near the scene and canvass nearby businesses and residents for surveillance footage. Authorities say the investigation remains active, and no charges have been announced.

A reporter from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel observed a large law enforcement presence on December 14 at a home linked to the family of the person of interest. The home, located in a suburb of Milwaukee, had FBI agents and the local police department’s vehicles outside. FBI agents instructed media not to approach the house.

Anyone with information related to the incident is urged to contact law enforcement.

Brown University shooting person of interest identified.