Brown University in Providence RI goes front and center..SHELTER IN PLACE

 This used to be the stomping grounds of yours truly, previously living blocks away from the Brown campus.  I used to workout at their athletic center. I had my car burglarized in their parking lot and the cops never found anyone despite so-called video footage inside and out. 

With CNN, Today, the NY Times, PBS, BBC, ABC and Trump commenting, something significant is at play.. This seems like a coordinated unprecedented overwhelming response.  

I glean this  was pre-planned. 

JUST LISTEN TO OUR COMMANDS

This reminds me of Watertown, Mass.

🚨 TENSE: Heavily armed officers sweeping streets near Brown University, FIVE HOURS into the manhunt, shooter STILL AT LARGE.

Campus is still on full lockdown.

Students barricaded in closets and rooms, sheltering in place.
pic.twitter.com/QGcmswzAJY

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) December 14, 2025

🇺🇸 BROWN UNIVERSITY SHOOTING UPDATE: STUDENTS ARRIVE AT REUNIFICATION CENTER UNDER POLICE ESCORT

At Brown University's family reunification center, a bus full of students just pulled up to the Nelson Fitness Center on Hope Street, with Providence police guiding them in through… https://t.co/luA3P6vaj8 pic.twitter.com/WkOIUiUwdz

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) December 14, 2025

 

Online petition asks Brown to require student ID's to enter buildings

Whitman Littlefield

A petition from Change.org has begun circulating through social media asking Brown University to require ID swipes to enter all buildings, "regardless of time of day" going forward.

Authorities have said that at the time of the shooting, the building was unlocked and open to students preparing for final exams. According to Brown University, the Barus and Holley, located at 184 Hope Street, was built in 1965. The 7-story building houses the School of Engineering as well as the Physics Department. 

The building includes laboratories, offices and classrooms as well as several lecture halls. 

The petition says, "The once unthinkable violence that unfolded at Brown on December 13, 2025 has affected not only Brown students at/near the shooting, but the entire campus community and our families. In an effort to rebuild our home and heal, signing this petition to require ID card swipes for all Brown buildings regardless of time of day could help prevent a tragedy like this one from unfolding. "

Providence businesses, attractions closed after Brown University shooting

Antonia Noori Farzan

Although the shelter in place order has been lifted, a number of Providence businesses announced Sunday morning that they will be closed today out of an abundance of caution.

Jahunger, Frank and Laurie’s, Books on the Square, Hazel Origin Coffee, Dave’s Coffee, Nitro Bar, New Harvest, There There’s West Fountain Street location and all Providence locations of Seven Stars Bakery are among those announcing closures.

The Providence Athenaeum is also closed. The Providence Flea is also canceled on Dec. 14. The Rhode Island School of Design Museum will also be closed on Sunday but expects to reopen on Tuesday. It is normally closed on Mondays.

Seven Stars said that the baked goods that they would typically be serving in their Providence cafes “will instead be donated to first responders and members of our community affected by this tragedy.”

RI Blood Center calls for donations

Antonia Noori Farzan

The Rhode Island Blood Center says that they "have been asked to provide additional blood units to local hospitals to support patient care during this emergency" and are seeking donations.

Some donor centers will have extended hours today, the RIBC said in posts on social media. A list can be found at https://www.ribc.org/donate-blood/.

"Hospitals rely on a ready supply during emergencies, and your donation can save lives," the Blood Center wrote. 

All blood types are welcome, but Type O blood is especially needed since it is the most commonly used in emergencies like these, the Blood Center said.

Brown University tennis player hid in a closet for hours during lockdown

Providence Journal Staff

Brown University tennis player Chloe Qin hid in a closet for hours until police came after the campus went into lockdown during a mass shooting on campus on Dec. 13.

Hear about her experience below:

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Chloe Qin, 18, a player for the Brown University tennis team, was practicing with some friends Saturday afternoon, Dec. 13, when someone opened fire in a building on another part of the Ivy League campus.

“I had to hide in like literally our ball closet with four other people,” Qin told The Providence Journal Sunday morning while walking down a snowy and nearly deserted Thayer Street. “We heard sirens, and we could hear a helicopter outside.”

They used their cell phones to keep in touch with the outside world from the darkened closet. “We were just like texting our friends and like texting our family that we loved them.”

At one terrifying point, they heard noise outside the closet and a flashlight swept under the door.

Qin dared not move. “I was thinking, ‘Do not cough. Stay really quiet,' “ she said. “I was just really scary.”

About an hour later, police opened the closet and patted Qin and her friends down for weapons. Then they were taken to another location, where they sheltered in place until about 2 a.m.

Qin credited drills in high school for preparing her for the ordeal.

“Unfortunately, we’re pretty familiar with how to do things if something like that happens.”

RI Police Chiefs Association recognizes cohesive response at Brown University

Will Richmond

In an event that resulted in the response of law enforcement agencies from across the state, along with federal partners, the ability to coordinate all of the responding units was recognized in a statement from the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association.

"The Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association extends its deepest sympathies to the victims, their families, and the entire Brown University community in the wake of yesterday’s violence. We mourn the lives of the two students killed and our hearts are with those who were harmed or impacted by this senseless act.

"We want to express our profound gratitude for the professionalism, courage, and seamless collaboration demonstrated by law enforcement, fire and EMS, and our partner agencies at every level. When the call went out, our communities responded swiftly, decisively, and together. This cohesive public safety response reflects the strength of our shared commitment to protect life, support one another, and stand shoulder-to-shoulder in moments of crisis.

"As investigators continue their work, we can all help by supporting the victims and our community. Healing from this trauma will take time but we are united in our support of our colleagues in Providence and beyond."

FBI used cell phone data to help locate suspect

Eryn Dion

FBI Director Kash Patel posted on social media platform X giving additional insight into the FBI's role in responding to the mass shooting at Brown University and tracking down the suspect.

He said that the FBI Boston office established a command post to take in, analyze and run down leads. He said that the FBI also activated the "Cellular Analysis Survey Team, to provide critical geolocation capabilities."

Based off a lead from the Providence Police Department, Patel said that the FBI Boston’s Safe Streets Task Force, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals and Coventry Police Department, detained a "person of interest" in a hotel room in Coventry.

"We have deployed local and national resources to process and reconstruct the shooting scene - providing HQ and Lab elements on scene," Patel wrote. "We set up a digital media intake portal to ingest images and video from the public related to this incident. And the FBI’s victim specialists are fully integrating with our partners to provide resources to victims and survivors of this horrific violence."

'Policymakers need to be ashamed that they've let this happen to the point where someone like myself can go through this twice'

Bailey Allen

Zoe Weissman, 20, a Brown University student who was in her dorm room when the shots rang out, knows the trauma of gun violence all too well.

On Feb. 14, 2018, then 12-year-old Weissman was at her middle school in Parkland, Florida, when she heard gunshots from the nearby Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

"The schools shared a field, and I was outside, so I was the closest you could get to Douglas without actually being on the school's property," Weissman recalled.

She expressed her frustration at the fact that so many mass shootings have taken place in the United States in recent years.

"I think that the policymakers need to be ashamed that they've let this happen to the point where someone like myself can go through this twice," Weissman said. "And I think that if they actually care about their constituents, they'll show that by passing comprehensive gun violence prevention legislation, and if they don't, I refuse to believe that they actually care about the people they were elected to serve."

After witnessing the fatal Parkland shooting, Weissman said she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Years later, the shooting at Brown University has brought her trauma back into sharp focus.

"This is something I've been living with every day for the past seven to eight years," Weissman said. "Because I've been in therapy, I know how to cope with this. And so, I feel privileged that I'm in a position where I can help [my peers] learn how to cope with it the way I have."

Smiley says not all victims' families have been notified

Antonia Noori Farzan

Mayor Brett Smiley said that victims’ names have not been released because not all their families have been notified, due to the fact that some are currently traveling.

Conditions have not changed, he said. One student has been discharged from the hospital, another is in critical but stable condition, and seven are in stable condition.

Smiley said he has had conversations with four of the students.

“One of the students who showed tremendous courage, literally said to me, ‘You know, that active shooter drill they made me do in high school really helped me,’” he said.

Smiley said that the survivors he spoke to “showed courage, hope, and gratitude” for the community support and the  quality the medical care they’ve received.

“A couple of the family members who I had a chance to speak with are so grateful for what they’ve seen and heard of the outpouring of support from this community,” he said.

Smiley said that he has ideas about potential policy changes that would make the community safer, and that will be a conversation at a later date. He became emotional when speaking about the need for active shooter drills, saying they shouldn’t be necessary but “it’s so damn frequent.”

In general, Smiley said, the city currently can’t provide much information because it doesn’t want to jeopardize the ongoing investigation.

“I know it is frustrating,” he said. “What’s important is that the investigation takes the time that it needs to be right.”

Police union shows gratitude for officers, students

Katie Mulvaney

The Providence Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #3, which represents city officers, relayed condolences to the people killed and injured in the Dec. 13 shooting at Brown University shooting, as well as gratitude to the students and others who stepped up to assist.

“Last night, our city experienced something no community should ever have to face. Our hearts are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives, as well as those who were injured,” the union posted on Facebook.

“In the midst of this tragedy, we are deeply grateful for the countless men and women from across the state, including tactical teams and federal agencies, who provided critical technology, expertise, and support. These teams worked tirelessly to secure students, clear buildings, secure the scene, and continued the search for the suspected shooter throughout the night,” the FOP said.

“We are thankful that, at this time, a person of interest is in custody. While we pray that something like this never happens in our city, we recognize the need to always be prepared. As first responders, we must have the resources necessary to act swiftly and decisively. The loss of life is never acceptable in our society, and it is a reality that no words can fully comfort,” the post continued.

The union extended a shoutout to Brown students, many of whom continued to shelter in place for hours before being cleared by police and ferried to the reunification center by Rhode Island Public Transit Authority buses.

Providence restaurants feeding, offering services for first responders, Brown community

Antonia Noori Farzan

Numerous Providence businesses are stepping up to offer free meals for first responders and members of the Brown community, or services for community members who are grieving and need a place to destress.

Longtime Thayer Street staple Kabob and Curry is offering free meals for all students, faculty and first responders, the restaurant said in an Instagram post. 

Like No Udder, a vegan ice cream shop on Hope Street, is offering ice cream to Brown students, faculty or first responders who show identification.

"Ice cream fixes a lot, but not everything," the shop wrote on Instagram, saying it remains open as a place where people can "get out of the house and away from the TV." 

Brown Bee Coffee, a popular new coffee shop on Benefit Street, said it is giving out its renowned croissants for free to any Brown students who come in and show their IDs.

PiANTA, a vegan restaurant on Atwells Avenue, is also offering free meals to students, faculty, and first responders. 

West Side Wellness encouraged anyone affected by the tragedy to call about receiving a pre-paid massage through their Pay it Forward program.

Rhode Island Hot Yoga said on Facebook that they will be offering free classes for the rest of the day.

"We’re going to open up this afternoon and we’re not going to charge for classes, cause it sure as heck isn’t about the money - we just want to be available for our members & community," the yoga studio wrote. 

Hundreds gather at Providence vigil

Paul Edward Parker

Several hundred people gathered on the new fallen snow in Providence’s Lippitt Park as temperatures hovered around freezing the evening of Sunday, Dec. 14, to share the light of togetherness in the wake of the mass shooting at Brown University a day earlier that claimed two lives.

Councilwoman Sue AnderBois told the 5 p.m. gathering that the evening – on the first night of Hanukkah – had been planned as a celebration of light.

“Instead we are gathered to share light in this dark time,” she said. “We are here just to be together” as the community grieves the two students who lost their lives to gun violence.

Anderbois was joined in a 10-minute speaking program that included Mayor Brett Smiley and Rabbi Sarah Mack, of Temple Beth-El.

“We gather this evening in stunned grief, in stunned shock,” said Mack. “We can use our light to kindle more light, that is how we can get through this dark moment.”

After the rabbi spoke and the program formally ended, the crowd spontaneously spoke into a rendition of “Amazing Grace.”