PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A Brown University Teaching Assistant is reeling after a gunman opened fire in the classroom, where he was conducting a study session on Saturday night.
Joseph Oduro explained he was finishing up the last review session of the year for his Principle of Economics class. The 21-year-old explained he was delivering closing remarks around 4 p.m. when he heard gunshots and screaming outside the auditorium-style lecture hall.
“About five seconds later, we see a gunman enter the room and then he just screamed something and just started shooting. We made direct eye contact,” Oduro said. “The first couple gunshots went straight to the chalkboard exactly where I was standing. So, who knows, if I didn’t duck, maybe I’d not be here today.”
Oduro said he motioned for all students to come to the front of the room, many of them hiding under the desk with him.
“There was actually a girl who was sitting right next to me. She had two bullets in her legs,” Oduro remembered.
The senior student said it felt like eternity, crowding and sheltering under the desk, waiting for it to be over.
“At the end of the day, we just all wanted to survive,” Oduro said. “My heart just goes to the students that didn’t make it out of that room, and the students that are in the hospital right now. I haven’t really had the chance to process things myself, but I just want to make sure everybody else is okay, and then I can worry about my wounds.”
Two students were killed, and 9 others were injured in the mass shooting at Brown University, Saturday night.
Officials report a person of interest is in custody.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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