PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island — A palpable sense of apprehension persists at Brown University as law enforcement continues its intensive search for a gunman responsible for a deadly campus shooting that occurred on December 17th, 2025. The incident, which resulted in two fatalities and nine injuries, has left the academic community in a state of heightened alert despite the partial resumption of normal campus operations.
Authorities from the Providence Police Department have been conducting an extensive manhunt that entered its fourth day on Tuesday. While investigators detained an individual considered a ‘person of interest’ on Sunday, that person was subsequently released without charges, leaving the investigation without a primary suspect.
The tragedy stands in stark contrast to Rhode Island’s general crime statistics. According to FBI data, the state typically maintains one of the lowest violent crime rates nationwide. However, data from the Gun Violence Archive reveals this incident marks the 393rd mass shooting recorded in the United States this year alone.
In remembrance of the victims, students gathered for a vigil honoring Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, a freshman international student from Uzbekistan, and Ella Cook, a sophomore from Alabama who served as vice-president of the university’s Republican club.
Eyewitness accounts from students who experienced the lockdown reveal the profound psychological impact of the event. Zico, a graduate student who was working in a laboratory within the engineering building where the shooting occurred, described his immediate response: ‘My first instinct involved rapidly assessing whether to escape or seek shelter. I barricaded the door with office chairs, concealed myself beneath a desk, and maintained absolute silence while awaiting police assistance.’
His ordeal lasted approximately eight hours from the initial emergency alert until he was finally able to return home around midnight. Zico expressed particular frustration with the investigation’s progress, noting ‘The ongoing inability to apprehend the suspect, coupled with what appears to be limited investigative leads, compounds our collective anxiety.’
Another student, Bella Wang, recounted her experience of seeking refuge with classmates in a computer science building situated between the library and the engineering complex. ‘Initially, we struggled to comprehend the reality of the situation,’ Wang recalled. ‘Even after several hours in lockdown, part of us questioned whether the events were actually unfolding.’
The shooting has sparked renewed conversations about campus security protocols and broader national gun violence prevention measures, with many students expressing diminished confidence in their safety within academic environments.