Trump calls Brown University shooter ‘animal’ as manhunt continues
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President Donald Trump said no motive had been determined for the suspected gunman, who is at large after opening fire in a classroom at Brown University in Rhode Island on Saturday.
Although police arrested a man at a Rhode Island hotel in connection with a fatal shooting that left two students dead, authorities announced Sunday they had released the man and efforts to capture the suspect resumed Monday.
Ambulances line up on Hope Street at Brown University in Providence, RI, on Saturday, December 13, 2025, during reports of a shooting. (Mark Stockwell/AP Photo)
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters Monday. “Hopefully they will catch this animal.”
When asked why the FBI, which is supporting local law enforcement in Rhode Island in their investigations, was having difficulty identifying the shooting suspect, Trump said it was always difficult to do so and that the problem was in the school.
President Donald Trump speaks at the Mexican Border Defense Medal presentation in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on December 15, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
CRIME PROFILE SAYS BROWN UNIVERSITY WAS A ‘SOFT TARGET’ FOR SHOOTERS LEFT IN THE FACTORY
“This was a school issue. They had their own guards,” Trump said. “They had their own police, they had their own everything. But you really have to ask the school that question, not the FBI. We came after the fact, and the FBI will do a good job, but they came after the fact.”
People hold candles during a memorial service for the victims of Saturday’s shooting on the Brown University campus on Sunday, December 14, 2025, in Providence, RI. (Steven Senne/AP Photo)
Two students lost their lives and nine students were injured in the conflict. One of the victims of the shooting has been identified as Ella Cook, a sophomore from Alabama who serves as vice president of the Brown University College Republicans, according to authorities.
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The other victim was identified as Muhammet Aziz Umurzokov, authorities said. According to the New York Times, Umurzokov and his family are citizens of Uzbekistan who currently live in Virginia.
Fox News’ Stephen Sorace and Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.
