Investigators release additional video of possible Brown gunman as search continues
PROVIDENCE, RI (AP) — Authorities requested the public to see if there was footage of the gunman who killed two students and injured nine others. at Brown Universityeven as they released a new video timeline and a slightly clearer image of a possible suspect.
Investigators offered no indication Tuesday that they were any closer to identifying him. In all publicly released videos, the suspect’s face was masked or turned away, and authorities could only give a vague description of him as stocky and about 173 centimeters tall.
Officers are searching Providence for clues that could help them find out who was behind Saturday’s campus attack.
Surveillance video that the FBI posted online before it was removed showed a man in dark clothing walking on multiple sidewalks for about an hour shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday. All of the streets were within a few blocks of the Brown University engineering building where the attack occurred.
Some clips show the person walking in front of some properties several times. In one of these, when someone approaches, the person suddenly turns around and runs in the other direction.
In two clips taken moments after the shooting, the man can be seen walking away from the parking lot and along the street.
Authorities asked for help from the public
Police received nearly 200 tips, and Providence police Chief Col. Oscar Perez asked the public Tuesday to check camera systems in the area to see if there was footage that could help authorities identify the suspected gunman.
“We’re looking for a moment shorter than someone breathing,” Perez said.
The gunman’s lack of cameras and clear video continued to frustrate both authorities and the public. While Brown President Christina Paxson confirmed Tuesday that there are 1,200 cameras on campus, law enforcement said there was no clear video of the shooter from inside the engineering building.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha argued that the investigation was going “really well” and asked the public to be patient in finding the suspected killer.
There are still big questions, especially about the shooter’s motive. When pressed about ethnicity, political cause or connection to culture, Neronha said, “This is a dangerous path to go down.”
seeking solace
Brown graduate Chris Kremer joined about 200 people at a somber campus church service for the victims on Tuesday. He lives a block away from the scene and frequently goes to the building where the attack took place. He said many in the community thought about how easily he could have been among those shot.
He said it was better to attend the ceremony than to sit alone, sad and depressed, fiddling with his phone.
“It’s always nice to be in a big, lofty space when thinking big, heavy thoughts,” Kremer said. “I think people have seen this as a kind of salve for thousands of years, so I’m hoping it will do some good tonight.”
campus security
Attacks and escape of the shooter increased Questions about campus safetyIt has led to calls for better locking of campus gates, including a lack of cameras.
Paxson said the university has two security systems. A system activated in emergencies sent text messages, phone calls and emails reaching 20,000 people. The other system includes three sirens on campus and was not activated Saturday; Paxson defended this decision because doing so would have caused people to run into buildings, including where the shooting occurred.
“So this is not a system we would ever use in an active shooter situation,” he said.
Brown’s website says sirens can be used when there is an active shooter, but Paxson said that “depends on the circumstances and location of the shooter.”
A city on the edge
Providence remained tight on Tuesday; Additional police have been sent to schools in the city to reassure worried parents that their children will be safe. District Manager Javier Montañez said ten state police officers were deployed to support police sent to increase security in schools.
Providence public schools canceled after-school activities and field trips for the week as a precaution.
Locals expressed both fear and defiance as the investigation continued Tuesday.
“Of course it sounds scary. But at the same time, if the person really wants to scare us, I don’t think we should let them win,” said Tatjana Stojanovic, a Providence parent who lives next door to the Brown campus.
Others say attention to security measures does little to address the real problem.
“The problem is not the doors, it’s the guns,” said Zoe Kass, a senior who fled the engineering building during a police raid on Saturday.
Kass, who has spent his life in schools where every door is locked and where school shootings continue to occur, said such security measures only create the “illusion of security.”
A more comprehensive picture of victims emerges
Details emerged about victimsThey were studying for their finals in a classroom on the first floor of the school’s engineering building.
Brown spokeswoman Amanda McGregor said two of the injured students had been released as of Tuesday. Of the seven people hospitalized, one is in critical condition, five are in critical but stable condition and one is in stable condition, Mayor Brett Smiley said.
said Spencer Yang, an 18-year-old freshman from New York City who was one of the injured students. New York Times And Brown Daily Herald A crazy brawl broke out after the gunman entered the room. Yang said he fell to the ground between some seats and was shot in the leg.
Jacob Spears, 18, a freshman from Evans, Georgia, was shot in the abdomen, according to a GoFundMe site set up for him; “but through pure adrenaline and courage, he managed to escape outside with the help of others.”
Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore who was one of the two students killed, was vice president of the Brown College Republicans and was beloved at her church in Birmingham, Alabama.
The other student killed was MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman from Brandermill, Virginia, majoring in biochemistry and neuroscience. His family immigrated to the United States from Uzbekistan when he was a child.
___
Contributors included Associated Press journalists Jennifer McDermott, Matt O’Brien and Robert F. Bukaty in Providence; Brian Slodysko in Washington; Michael Casey in Boston; Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu.
