PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The person of interest, who was detained early Sunday morning in connection with Saturday’s shooting at Brown University, has been identified.
According to CNN, sources within law enforcement say 24-year-old Benjamin Erickson has been identified in connection with the person of interest.
Erickson, a native of Wisconsin, served in the United States Army as an infantry soldier, serving as a rifleman from 2021-2024. Erickson passed sniper training and had experience with firearms instruction.
According to Erickson’s LinkedIn profile, he received a good conduct medal, participated in “security duties” near the President, and assisted with funeral ceremonies at Arlington. His LinkedIn also said that he planned on continuing his college education at Brown for the Fall ‘25 semester.
An Army Spokesperson told CNN that Erickson had no deployments and left the Army at the rank of Specialist.
After graduating from high school in July 2020, Erickson took online classes at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, focusing on Psychology. After leaving the military, he transferred to Brown. Authorities said the person of interest was not a current student at Brown, but law enforcement sources indicated to CNN that he might have been recently enrolled.
Erickson’s LinkedIn page also showed that he helped out at a horse rescue center, Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue in Maryland. CNN reached out to the center, where a staff member said that Erickson was part of an Army unit, the Caisson Detachment of the U.S. Army’s 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, training for escorts for military and state funerals.
CNN had found an X profile page that might have belonged to Erickson, with posts from 2016-17 about wrestling, music, and political satire.
A former high school classmate of Erickson, Bryce Jankowski, told CNN that he was recently in contact with Erickson, who texted Jankowski saying he was studying at Brown.
“He said he was doing good,” Jankowski said. “He said he was living at a hotel because his apartment flooded,” though he said that did not seem to bother him.
Jankowski also said that Erickson was a “wicked smart” and well-behaved guy. Jankowski never recalled any concerning behavior from Erickson.
Another high school classmate, who asked to be unnamed, described Erickson as a nice, quiet guy.
“He becomes really outgoing when you get to know him, but he’s pretty quiet when you don’t.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
