Officials Detain ‘Person Of Interest’ In Deadly Brown University Shooting

Officials announced in the early Sunday morning hours that a “person of interest” had been detained in the deadly shooting that took place less than one day earlier at Brown University.

Colonel Oscar Perez, Providence Police Department Chief, did not reveal many details about the “person of interest,” but The New York Times reported that the university lifted the standing “shelter in place” order around the same time.

“We are able to report that we have detained a person of interest involved in yesterday’s shooting,” Providence Mayor Brett Smiley announced in an early morning press conference on Sunday. “Colonel Perez will speak in a minute about that update. Second, I want to let the Providence community know that effective immediately, we are lifting the shelter in place for Brown and the related area.”

“The people of Providence should breathe a little easier this morning,” he said.

Perez followed up by confirming that the person who was detained was “in their 30s,” and said that officials were not currently looking for anyone else in connection with the attack.

The attack took place during an exam review session for an economics class, when a masked gunman burst into the classroom and opened fire.

Brown University President Christina Paxson took some heat on Saturday for not knowing — a full six hours after the shooting occurred — what had been taking place in the classroom when the shooter burst in.

WATCH:

???? HOLY CRAP! A reporter just PUMMELED the President of Brown University for having NO ANSWERS on the mass shooting

REPORTER: “President, with all due respect, SIX HOURS after the shooting, and you DON’T KNOW what was going on in that classroom??! How does that happen? Were they… pic.twitter.com/EgdQDXGmVv

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) December 14, 2025

Paxson revealed that she’d been in Washington, D.C., when the shooting took place and have jumped on a flight immediately when the news broke.

“I’m just catching up,” she said.

“President, with all due respect, SIX HOURS after the shooting, you don’t know what was going on in that classroom? How does that happen? Were they taking an exam? Were they meeting for a club?”

“I don’t know,” Paxson replied.

“Six hours later. You’re the president. You don’t know?” the reporter seemed incredulous.

“I do not know,” Paxson repeated.

“That’s kind of concerning,” the reporter observed.

Since the shooting took place, officials at Brown University have canceled all final exams. Instead, they advised students to go home and take care of themselves. “For the moment, we encourage everyone to focus on their own safety and well-being,” the provost announced.