Two Killed and Nine Injured in Shooting at Brown University – All Details

A shooter opened fire inside one of the buildings at the Ivy League university, turning a place meant for learning into a scene of chaos and terror.

On December 13, 2025, gunfire erupted at Brown University during final exam season, leaving two people dead and nine others injured. The shooting unfolded inside the Barus & Holley engineering complex, triggering a massive police response across the prestigious campus and nearby.

A senior and teaching assistant has spoken out, and other witnesses of the chaos have recounted those terrifying hours as police look for the shooter.

The Suspect, Still Unknown

Timothy O'Hara, Deputy Chief of the Providence Police Department, confirmed that the shooter, who opened fire on a classroom on the first floor, was dressed entirely in black and was seen leaving the engineering building shortly after the shots were fired.

His face could not be seen in the security footage, but some witnesses reported that he may have used a camouflage mask to hide his identity. It is also believed that he is a man in his 30s, but that information has not been confirmed.

According to O'Hara, the tips they’ve been working with so far have not helped pin down the shooter's identity. They now know more about him than they did at first, but still not enough. As of publication, no one is in custody, and the suspect remains at large.

But the case is advancing. In addition to the CCTV clip, authorities have also recovered shell casings from the scene as evidence.

"Yes, it's shell casings, but we're not going to release any specific information about that type of evidence," Smiley told reporters during a press conference that day.

No weapon has been recovered.

The Classroom Where It Happened

Joseph Oduro, a university senior and teaching assistant, was leading a study session; the first of five scheduled before the final exam for the Principles of Economics class, set for Tuesday, December 16. The review session ran from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. They were nearly finished.

They had already covered all the material. Oduro was simply taking a moment to tell the students how grateful he was for them. He had no idea they were moments away from becoming victims.

Suddenly, gunshots rang out, followed by screams in the hallway.

The masked gunman burst into the classroom seconds later, and tragedy struck. In an interview with The New York Times, Oduro said the shooter shouted something at them that he still cannot decipher.

He and authorities are continuing to work together to piece that moment, desperate for any clue that could help the investigation.

The room itself was one of the largest on campus, with 186 seats arranged like a lecture hall. According to Oduro, rows of seats were split by two aisles, stadium-style. The middle rows held ten seats, the outer ones just three.

Oduro survived by hiding under a desk with around 20 others. One of them was shot in the leg. A few ran through side doors. But the students in the middle row seat had a harder time escaping.

"The students in the middle were impacted the most," Oduro recalled. "Many of them were lying there and they were not moving. I have no idea how many."

No One Knows How He Got In

Disturbingly, it remains unclear how the gunman got inside the classroom in the first place. The outer doors of the Barus & Holley building — home to the School of Engineering and the physics departments — had been left unlocked, as is typical on a regular campus day. But exam rooms are supposed to be secured.

The massive seven-story complex contains over 100 laboratories, as well as dozens of classrooms and faculty offices. According to Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, rooms for final exams are normally locked and require badge access.

The Victims

According to University President Christina Paxson, ten of those struck by gunfire were students. An additional person was injured by bullet fragments, though authorities have not yet confirmed whether that individual was a student or a staff member.

Officials warned that the number of victims could change as more information becomes available.

But for now, it's known that nine gunshot victims were rushed to Rhode Island Hospital as emergency crews battled to save them.

Hospital representative Kelly Brennan revealed that one victim is in critical condition. Six others remain in the intensive care unit. Although their injuries are severe, they are not deteriorating. The remaining two were described as stable.

For now, only two people have been confirmed dead.

Witnesses to the Campus Chaos

Chemical engineering student Emma Ferraro was in the lobby, reviewing her final project, when she suddenly heard loud pops echoing from the east area. At first, she had no idea they were gunshots.

But the moment reality set in, she acted fast. Emma bolted from the building and fled to another nearby structure, where she hid in fear for hours, too terrified to move.

Another person nearby was Eva Erickson, a doctoral student currently studying on campus, and notably a recent finalist on CBS's "Survivor." She had left her laboratory just 15 minutes before the first shots rang out.

Although she was already out of the building, Erickson ended up in lockdown inside the campus gym, where she managed to post on social media that the only person who had stayed behind in the lab that day was safely guided out.

Across the street, Alex Bruce, a biochemistry student, had been working on a research project in his dorm when chaos broke out. He heard sirens wailing and received an active shooter alert at 4 p.m.

The incident left him visibly shaken. He remained inside, trembling, as he watched from his window while armed officers surrounded the area.

The terrifying part was that no one knew where the shooter would head next, so students did whatever they could to stay hidden.

According to doctoral student Chianghen Chien, people in a nearby lab hid under their desks and turned off the lights, trying not to make a sound.

One student had just stepped out of the library when the chaos began. She ran into a taco restaurant for shelter, where she spent over three hours texting her friends and waiting for the all-clear.

“Everyone is the same as me, shocked and terrified that something like this happened,” she told AP News.

Another student nearby had already been through a devastating school shooting and missed this one because of a simple change of mind.

Mia Tretta, a 21-year-old, had been studying for finals like many others in her dormitory. She had planned to go to the engineering complex, but at the last minute, decided instead to go to her room.

In 2019, Tretta was shot in the abdomen by a classmate at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California. She was one of five students who were shot; two of them died.

She told The New York Times that people never believe something like that can happen to them until it does.

The Police Are on a Mission

Police have been conducting an exhaustive search since Saturday afternoon, combing every corner of the campus as well as a nearby wealthy residential area known for its historic brick homes. Authorities stressed that no area is being overlooked as the manhunt continues.

Smiley addressed the tragedy in a statement to the press, saying the university community is mourning and that the entire city's heart is broken by the devastating loss.

President Donald Trump also addressed the press on Saturday night from an airfield in Washington, saying he had been fully briefed on the unfolding situation. He described the incident as "terrible" and a "shame."

"All we can do right now is pray for the victims and for those that were very badly hurt... Just pray," he said solemnly. According to the President, the public will be updated as soon as more information becomes available.

Brown University is the seventh-oldest university in the country and ranked among the nation's most prestigious, with approximately 7,000 undergraduates and 3,000 graduate students currently enrolled. Meanwhile, Rhode Island is one of the states with some of the strictest gun laws in the entire US.

We offer our condolences to the victims' families and friends at this time.