‘Unimaginably tragic’: Tracing the 50 hours after the shooting at Brown
The Herald constructed a timeline of events that followed Saturday’s shooting.
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On Saturday, Dec. 13, around 4:00 p.m., a masked man with a gun entered a review session in Barus & Holley Room 166 for ECON 0110: “Principles of Economics,” shouted something indiscernible and opened fire.
The Herald constructed a timeline of the events that followed.
4:05 p.m.
The first 911 call was reported. A Providence Fire Department team was dispatched to the area for reports of an active shooter.
4:22 p.m.
Brown’s Department of Public Safety released its first alert: “There’s an active shooter near Barus and Holley Engineering.” The alert advised students to “lock doors, silence phones and stay hidden until further notice.”
Barus and Holley Room 166.
Media by Kenna Lee | The Brown Daily Herald
4:28 p.m.
Rhode Island School of Design students were alerted of police activity “in the area of Brook and Thayer Streets.” Students were advised to avoid the area until further notice.
4:50 p.m.
About half an hour after their first alert, DPS announced that a “suspect” was in custody.
As first responders continued to respond to the scene, the community was advised to continue sheltering in place.
5:11 p.m.
DPS retracted the statement that there was a suspect in custody. The notification alerted the community that Brown was coordinating with law enforcement and emergency services on site.
5:27 p.m.
In its fourth update, DPS reported that shots were fired near Governor Street. DPS later retracted this claim in its sixth update.
Governor Street on Dec. 15.
Media by Max Robinson | The Brown Daily Herald
5:30 p.m.
An alert informed RISD students that there was an “active shooter” on Brown’s campus. The message advised them to avoid Brook Street and Thayer Street.
5:45 p.m.
The White House X account shared a post from President Trump’s Truth Social that stated the FBI was on campus and a “suspect” was in custody.
“God bless the victims and the families of the victims,” he wrote.
6:05 p.m.
An email to the Brown community confirmed that “multiple shooting victims” had been “transported to local hospitals.” The email added that “support services” arrived at Barus and Holley, where multiple final exams were taking place at the time of the incident.
6:10 p.m.
In its sixth update, DPS described its earlier report of gunshots near Governor Street as “unfounded.”
6:33 p.m.
Two people were confirmed deceased in an email to the Brown community, and eight other victims were in critical but stable condition at a local hospital. “The shooter or shooters still are not in custody at this time,” the message said.
6:35 p.m.
Smiley confirmed in a press conference that two people had passed away, and the eight other victims in critical but stable condition were being treated at Rhode Island Hospital. “We do not have a shooter in custody at this time,” he added.
In the same press conference, Providence Deputy Chief of Police Timothy O’Hara stated that preliminarily, the person of interest identified was “a male dressed in black.” According to O’Hara, the man’s route to enter Barus and Holley was unknown, but he exited on “the Hope Street side” of the building. He urged people to take the continued shelter-in-place order “very seriously.”
7:20 p.m.
According to Senior Public Relations Officer for Rhode Island Hospital Kelly Brennan, eight shooting victims were hospitalized as of 7:20 p.m. — six were in critical but stable condition, one was in critical condition and one was in stable condition.
7:38 p.m.
“There are truly no words that can express the deep sorrow we are feeling,” President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 wrote in a message to the Brown community.
8:28 p.m.
In its seventh update, DPS announced that “the Brown campus continues to be in lockdown.” The alert added that “the law enforcement response remains ongoing.”
9:37 p.m.
In a second press conference, Smiley announced that an additional person was injured by shrapnel in the attack, bringing the total victim count to nine. The additional victim was expected to make a full recovery. He added that the shelter-in-place order remained in effect for both “campus and the neighborhood surrounding the campus.”
Paxson confirmed that the two individuals who passed away, as well as the nine injured, are all Brown students.
“Over 400 officers” were in the area, “assisting with both the investigation and to ensure the safety of the Providence community,” Smiley said. He added video footage of the suspect would be shared at the conclusion of the press conference.
O’Hara added that the surveillance video of “who we believe is the suspect leaving that area” showed a man “walking on Hope Street and taking a right on Waterman, towards the water.”
The man was described as wearing “dark gray or black clothing” and a “camouflage gray mask.”
O’Hara stated that “students that barricaded themselves” inside buildings and called police had been “removed” by security forces. The students were “now in a reunification center,” he said.
Media by Annika Singh | The Brown Daily Herald
11:06 p.m.
A campus alert announced that law enforcement had established a perimeter around the University enclosing the Sciences Quad, Wriston Quad, Main Green, Keeney Quad and Ruth Simmons Quad, among other areas of campus. The alert stated that authorities would enter non-residential buildings within the perimeter “to escort all individuals to safe locations outside of the perimeter.”
“All individuals inside administrative buildings within the perimeter should continue to shelter in place until law enforcement officers arrive,” the alert added.
11:10 p.m.
Smiley hosted the last press conference of the evening. He said there would be “an enhanced, invisible law enforcement presence throughout the community” on Sunday.
12:07 a.m.
The Herald, along with several other news outlets, received a surveillance video that showed a man wearing black clothing walking east at the intersection of Hope and Waterman streets, away from Barus and Holley. The individual in the video matched the previous description given by O’Hara.
Courtesy of the Providence Police Department
12:15 a.m.
Multiple sources reported to The Herald that students were being bused from University libraries to “secure locations.”
1:53 a.m.
In another email to the Brown community, Paxson announced that students were being evacuated on RIPTA buses. She advised students sheltering in residence halls and off-campus residences to stay in place. Given the campus-wide lockdown, she also encouraged parents and families not to travel to Brown’s campus.
She also provided an update from the hospital, stating that six students remained in critical but stable condition. One student was in critical condition, another student was in stable condition and a third had been discharged. “This is an unimaginably tragic day,” she wrote.
“We have reached out to the families of all the students and are offering any support we can,” she wrote. “I have spoken to some of them and expect to speak to others soon.”
1:54 a.m.
A DPS alert stated that “law enforcement officers continue to evacuate community members from administrative buildings” within the police perimeter.
Media by Hadley Carr | The Brown Daily Herald
3:05 a.m.
Students were released from the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center in waves, beginning with graduate students and students with friends or family waiting for them. Undergraduate students living in off-campus residences followed. Then, students living in on-campus housing were allowed to leave.
The Olney-Margolies Athletic Center on Dec. 13.
Media by Hadley Carr | The Brown Daily Herald
5:42 a.m.
A DPS alert stated that Providence police told the University that the shelter-in-place order was over. But, police were still present in areas that were considered an “active crime scene.” The alert added that people who left buildings within the police perimeter — which included Minden Hall and other apartment buildings — would be “unable to return.”
7:05 a.m.
At a press conference that began at 7 a.m., Smiley confirmed that law enforcement officials had detained a person of interest.
8:15 a.m.
“My goal is for our community to work together to get through this difficult time and feel safe on our campus again,” wrote Paxson in an email to the Brown community. “I am deeply moved by all the students who opened their homes and their arms to welcome friends into their dorms and other residences while we transported others to local hotels.”
8:23 a.m.
In a message to the Brown community, Doyle announced that all remaining classes, exams and papers or projects will “not take place as scheduled.”
“At this time, it is essential that we focus our efforts on providing care and support to the members of our community as we grapple with the sorrow, fear and anxiety that is impacting all of us right now,” he wrote.
12:24 p.m.
Smiley said that law enforcement was “still processing evidence” at an afternoon press conference. He added that not all victims’ families had been notified.
Media by Anna Luecht | The Brown Daily Herald
1:00 p.m.
At the White House’s Christmas reception, Trump began by acknowledging the events on campus.
To the families of the victims, he said, “I pay my deepest regards and respects from the United States of America.”
3:07 p.m.
In a message to the Brown community, Doyle announced that the University decided to cancel in-person final exams, apart from exams at the Warren Alpert Medical School and for the IE Brown Executive MBA program in the School of Professional Studies. The University also decided to extend grading deadlines, he wrote in the message.
Students with remaining work were given three choices: accept their current grade, switch their grade option to Satisfactory/No Credit or submit outstanding work. The message told students to “communicate their decisions” by Jan. 7, but did not specify how they are expected to do so.
Media by Anna Luecht | The Brown Daily Herald
3:43 p.m.
The Washington Post named a person of interest detained Sunday morning. NBC News and other major news outlets reported the same name shortly after.
11:00 p.m.
At an evening press conference, Smiley announced that the detained person of interest was being released.
At the conference, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha P’19 P’22 said that the evidence “now points in a different direction.” Officials did not share what evidence turned them away from the original person of interest.
11:47 p.m.
In a message to the Brown community, the University shared contact information for the Providence Police Department and the Department of Public Safety. The message advised Brown community members to “be vigilant in their own activities on campus.”
“We continue to make every effort to ensure the safety and security of the campus,” the message reads.
5:00 p.m.
Mayor Smiley, Providence police and additional law enforcement officials held another press conference regarding the shooting. At the conference, new footage of the shooter was released.
One video showed the suspect walking on the sidewalk of Benevolent Street, officials said. The video was taken at 2:08 p.m., about two hours before the shooting. The individual’s appearance matched the description previously given by officials of a man dressed in dark clothing.
Another video showed the suspect on Cooke Street, around a seven minute walk from Benevolent street, at 2:52 p.m. A third video showed the individual walking on Manning Street at 2:53 p.m.
Ted Docks, the special agent in charge for the Boston Field Office of the FBI, announced a reward of up to $50,000 for “information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the individual.” He added that the shooter is still suspected to be “armed and dangerous.”
Providence Chief of Police Oscar Perez stated that law enforcement continues to investigate whether the shooter remains in Providence.
Photos of a suspect taken at 2:18 p.m. on Dec. 13 at Corner of Hope and Benevolent streets, publicly released Dec. 15.
Courtesy of the Providence Police Department
6:26 p.m.
An alert from the University requested that members of the Brown community present in Barus and Holley on Dec. 12 or 13 arrange an interview with the Providence Police Department.
“Even an incidental detail may be helpful in investigating,” the alert stated.