The person of interest detained in connection with the fatal mass shooting at Brown University is being released without charges, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said during a Sunday night press conference.
“The status of safety in our community remains unchanged, and we believe that you remain safe in our community,” Smiley said. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said evidence that had pointed to this individual “now points in a different direction.” Neronha said he discussed the situation with FBI Director Kash Patel on Sunday. Smiley said there is currently no way of knowing if the person responsible has left the state.
The individual was initially detained about 3:45 a.m. at a hotel in Coventry, R.I., about 28 miles south of Providence, according to law enforcement sources and Coventry police. Sources said the person was allegedly in possession of two guns at the time of detention. Two people were killed and nine were injured in the shooting.
Law enforcement sources described the person of interest as a man in his mid-20s from Wisconsin. Authorities recovered a gun fitting a distinctive description reported by witnesses, along with another firearm, when the person was detained. Investigators are looking into whether the person has ties to Brown; sources said the individual is not a Brown student.
Earlier Sunday, Mayor Smiley announced the detention and the lifting of a shelter-in-place order. Col. Oscar L. Perez, Jr., chief of the Providence Police Department, said detectives are continuing to collect evidence and execute search warrants and declined to comment on motive. Officials said no one else is being sought in the shooting that occurred Saturday on the Ivy League campus.
A tip from the public led police to the Hampton Inn in Coventry where the person of interest was detained, sources said. A federal source told ABC News the individual was being called a person of interest and investigators were confident they were on the right track. Search warrants and a review of the man’s background are ongoing; officials said they are conducting a meticulous investigation to ensure successful prosecution if appropriate.
Authorities continued canvassing the area around Brown for additional video from security and cellphones. Investigators plan urgent traces of the firearms and ballistic examinations of shell casings and other evidence in the coming hours and days.
Before the detention, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies released a short video clip of someone described as a person of interest. The clip showed an individual dressed in dark clothing and a hood walking along Hope Street and turning north. The person’s right hand appeared to be in a jacket pocket as they walked northward along Waterman Street before exiting the frame.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the FBI helped locate the person of interest by activating the bureau’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team to provide geolocation capabilities after a lead from the Providence Police Department. He said the FBI’s Boston Safe Streets Task Force, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals and Coventry Police, detained a person of interest in a Coventry hotel based on that lead.
Eight of the nine injured remained in the hospital Sunday afternoon; six were in critical but stable condition, one was in critical condition, and one was stable. Smiley said he visited injured students at the hospital and recounted one telling him that an active shooter drill in high school helped them survive the incident. “We shouldn’t have to do active shooter drills, but it helped,” Smiley said.
A shelter-in-place order for Brown’s College Hill campus was lifted early Sunday by Providence Police, though police activity continued in areas considered active crime scenes. The shooting occurred Saturday at the Barus & Holley building on Hope Street, where engineering and physics classes are held. University President Christina H. Paxson said the gunfire erupted during a final exam review and expressed sorrow for the victims.
Brown student Ref Bari told ABC News he was inside Barus & Holley when the shots rang out. He described hearing six or seven pops, initially mistaking them for something else, then running as students rushed toward two exits. Bari said students were largely silent and focused, many wearing headphones, and that in the chaos he ran outside, called his parents, and warned others by shouting “Active shooter! Run!” He and several others sheltered in a friend’s apartment bathroom for about two hours.
Authorities said they will continue to collect evidence, execute search warrants, and examine ballistic and other forensic data as the investigation proceeds. ABC News’ Jessica Gorman contributed to this report.