There was a mass shooting this afternoon at Brown University. As I write this the shooter has not been arrested. The shooting apparently took place near an engineering building on campus.
The Providence Police Department confirmed “multiple” people were shot after gunfire rang out late Saturday afternoon at Brown University in Rhode Island.
School officials confirmed emergency medical personnel are on scene after an active shooter was reported near the Barus and Holley engineering building on Hope Street.
Just before 5:30 p.m. local time, the university said there were also reports of shots fired near Governor Street.
An alert text message sent to students said to “lock doors, silence phones and stay hidden until further notice.”
Brown’s student newspaper reports as many as 20 people have been shot:
At least 20 victims were reportedly shot near Barus and Holley and Macmillan Hall in an active shooter incident, according to the Providence Fire radio broadcast…
Katie Sun ’28 was studying in the Engineering Research Center lobby when she heard gunshots around 4:10 p.m. She evacuated the building, leaving behind all her belongings, and ran to her dorm for safety.
“It was honestly quite terrifying. The shots seemed like they were coming from … where the classrooms are,” she said.
The governor said he is monitoring the situation:
We are actively monitoring the shooting at @BrownUniversity. Our teams at @RIStatePolice and @RhodeIslandEMA are working closely with local law enforcement.
Please stay clear of the area and monitor official channels for updates.
Praying for our community.
— Governor Dan McKee (@GovDanMcKee) December 13, 2025
President Trump announced he’d been briefed on the situation and that a suspect was in custody.
Someone posted about 20 minutes of police radio chatter. They mention the location near the engineering building and several victims. They also describe the shooter as Caucasian wearing all black and a mask. Near the end of this clip, one officer says he has confronted the shooter at a bathroom and he can be heard telling him to drop the weapon.
Mass shooting Brown University providence Rhode Island to include the engineering lab, physics building and other buildings the shooter was caught in the bathroom that is at the end of the audio clip. This is the police response audio if you clip it at least give me credit. pic.twitter.com/oRaOeC8fhO
— Steve (@Dirt_Diver_24_7) December 13, 2025
Despite that, there are reports from just a few minutes ago saying no one is in custody yet.
There has been confusion about whether the shooter at @BrownUniversity is in custody. I can confirm that as of 6:09 there is NOT a suspect in custody. Continue to area the area if possible.
— Seth Magaziner (@SethMagaziner) December 13, 2025
Trump has just corrected himself:
🚨 UPDATE 🚨
“The Brown University Police reversed their previous statement — The suspect is NOT in custody.” pic.twitter.com/QH7Yv3slRX
— Gina Milan (@ginamilan_) December 13, 2025
Not surprising there is a lot of confusion. Some newspapers don’t even have a headline up yet. So take everything with a grain of salt for now. Early reports on these incidents are frequently wrong. In fact, I’m not seeing that reports of another shooting a few blocks away are said to be unfounded. There were also some reports on X that an Asian male had been arrested but that was an hour ago so apparently that was not the suspect.
Bottom line, no one knows anything yet except that there are some victims and the shooter is not in custody.
Exam week had just started at Brown and, despite it being a Saturday, there were students taking exams in the building where this happened. The condition of the victims is still unknown.
Fox News spoke to the mother of a student who ran when the shooting started. He is now barricaded in a closet with others.
A mother of a Brown University student shares texts she received from her son on campus during the shooting.
“Mom, there’s a live shooting on campus. I’m going to run. I love you.”
Truly a parent’s worst nightmare. Please pray.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) December 13, 2025
Update: Providence Mayor Brett Smiley just gave a statement to the media. He says 2 have died and 8 more are in critical condition. The shooter is still not in custody.
BREAKING: Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said 2 are dead and 8 are in critical but stable condition. A suspect is NOT in custody at this hour. Asking people who live near Brown to shelter in place. If you’re not home, stay safe elsewhere.https://t.co/98icCcQmGw @wpri12 pic.twitter.com/Yk3goMe2GG
— Alexandra Leslie (@AlexandraLeslie) December 13, 2025
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