Brown University Tragedy: Residents in ‘area of focus’ asked to check cameras for person of interest

Authorities in Providence are asking residents who live in a wide swath of the city to double-check their cameras for any sight of the person of interest in the deadly shooting at Brown University.

During a Wednesday night press conference, officials asked the public to review any security or phone footage from the week before the attack in the hopes it might help investigators identify the person, believing the attacker may have cased the scene ahead of time.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Providence Police Department released a map that charts the movements of the person of interest both immediately before and after the shooting that killed two students and wounded nine others.

Streets colored green show the person of interest’s movements leading up to the deadly shooting inside the Barus and Holley engineering building around 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Streets colored red are ones that authorities have video footage from that show the person of interest immediately after the shooting. The map shows that after the shooting, the person of interest walked down Hope Street before continuing onto Waterman Street, before allegedly turning onto Ives Street.

Police are asking residents who live south of Waterman Street between Thayer Street and Gano Street and north of Wickenden Street to check their cameras for any further sighting of the person of interest.

“I believe that this is probably the most intense investigation going on right now in this nation” Providence’s Police Chief Oscar Perez, said at a Wednesday news conference, noting that investigators have collected a lot of crime scene evidence and that student witnesses’ accounts of the shooter match the person in the video that authorities are seeking.

Authorities on Wednesday afternoon released enhanced, clearer photos of a person they say was spotted near the person of interest in the mass shooting at Brown University in Providence over the weekend. The new, clearer photo shows the individual wearing glasses walking down the street.

Police didn’t share any additional details on the second person whom they are looking to speak with.

Officials on Wednesday also said that of the nine students injured in the attack, one person remains in critical condition.

Five people who had been listed in critical but stable condition are still in the hospital but are making progress in their recovery and are no longer considered to be critically wounded. Three people who were hospitalized in the shooting are at home with their families, officials said.

Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore from Mountain Brook, Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman from Uzbekistan, were killed when a man walked inside the engineering building and opened fire.

Authorities on Tuesday released a video timeline and a slightly clearer image of a person of interest in the deadly attack.

0 of 9

The video, from more than an hour before the attack, shows the suspect walking and running at times in a quiet residential area a few blocks from the engineering building, including near Hope, Benevolent, and Manning streets.

Some clips show the person walking in front of some properties several times. In one, the person abruptly turns around and runs in the other direction when someone approaches.

While there has been no indication that investigators were any closer to zeroing in on his identity, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha has called the man their primary person of interest.

While Brown has installed 1,200 cameras on campus, the attack, whichkilled two students and wounded nine others, happened in a first-floor classroom in an older part of the engineering building that has “fewer, if any” cameras, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha noted.

Investigators also believe the shooter entered and left the building through a door that faces a residential street bordering campus. The building being right on the edge of campus also might explain why the cameras Brown does have didn’t capture footage of the person.

Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez urged residents to pay attention to the suspect’s movement patterns.

“Focus on the body movements—the way the person moves their arms, their posture, how they carry their weight," Perez said Tuesday. “This individual was in that neighborhood around 10:30 in the morning. We also know criminals will case the area weeks or days prior.”

The shooting happened in an older section of the engineering building with fewer security cameras. Neronha acknowledged frustration over the limited video evidence.

“The only video of the presumed, anticipated, suspected—however you want to define it—person, you have it," Neronha said.

In the footage, the person of interest is at times carrying a satchel, something investigators are examining closely.

No weapon has been recovered.

0 of 8

The gunman fired more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

Brown University President Christina Paxson remembered the two students killed in the shooting, Ella Cook and Mukhammadaziz Umurzokov, as “brilliant and beloved” members of the campus community.

Two of the wounded students were released from the hospital on Tuesday. Of the seven others, one remained in critical condition, five were in critical but stable condition, and one was in stable condition, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said.

The FBI has announced a $50,000 reward for any information that results in the arrest of the shooter.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the tip line at 401-272-3121.

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