Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said Sunday night that the individual who had been detained as a person of interest in the deadly Brown University shooting is being released without charges. “The status of safety in our community remains unchanged, and we believe that you remain safe in our community,” Smiley said at a press briefing.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said evidence that initially pointed to this person “now points in a different direction.” He said he spoke with FBI Director Kash Patel about developments. Smiley added investigators do not yet know whether the person responsible for the attack may have left the state.
Law enforcement sources said the person was taken into custody about 3:45 a.m. at a Hampton Inn in Coventry, R.I., roughly 28 miles south of Providence. Authorities told reporters two firearms were recovered during the detention, including one matching a distinct description provided by witnesses. Sources described the detainee as a Wisconsin man in his mid-20s who is not a Brown student.
The shooting at Brown’s Barus & Holley building on Hope Street left two people dead and nine injured. Police and university officials said the gunfire broke out during a review session for a final exam. Brown University President Christina H. Paxson expressed sorrow for the victims and the campus community.
Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar L. Perez Jr. said detectives continue to collect evidence and execute search warrants; he declined to discuss a possible motive. Officials said no additional suspects are being sought in connection with the Saturday shooting, and a shelter-in-place order that had been issued for Brown’s College Hill campus was lifted early Sunday, though police activity continued in areas designated as active crime scenes.
Investigators released a short video clip earlier Sunday showing a person in dark clothing and a hood walking along Hope Street and then turning north on Waterman Street. In the footage the individual’s right hand appears tucked into a jacket pocket. The FBI said it assisted Providence Police by activating the bureau’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team to provide geolocation support; the Boston Safe Streets Task Force, with help from U.S. Marshals and Coventry Police, took the lead on the detention based on that lead.
Police said a tip from the public helped lead officers to the Coventry hotel. Authorities are reviewing the detained man’s background and executing search warrants as part of a meticulous investigation intended to preserve evidence for potential prosecution.
Detectives continued canvassing the area near Brown for additional security and cellphone video. Forensic work planned in the coming hours and days includes urgent traces of the recovered firearms and ballistic analysis of shell casings and other evidence.
Of the nine people wounded, eight remained hospitalized Sunday afternoon: six were listed in critical but stable condition, one in critical condition, and one in stable condition. Mayor Smiley said he visited injured students at the hospital and recounted one telling him that an active-shooter drill they had practiced in high school helped them survive.
A Brown student who identified himself as Ref Bari told ABC News he was inside Barus & Holley when he heard six or seven shots, at first mistaking them for something else before racing toward exits. Bari said students ran quietly and some sheltered in a nearby apartment bathroom for about two hours before being able to leave.
Authorities reiterated that evidence collection, search warrants and forensic examinations are ongoing as the investigation continues. ABC News contributed to this report.