❓WHAT HAPPENED: A person of interest detained over the shooting at Brown University that left two dead and nine injured has been released as law enforcement continues to search for the gunman.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, and Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The shooting occurred at Brown University, with updates provided during a press conference on Sunday.
💬KEY QUOTE: “There was some degree of evidence that pointed to this individual, but that evidence needed to be corroborated and confirmed.” – Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha
🎯IMPACT: Law enforcement continues to search for the gunman, while officials claim there is no ongoing threat.
Law enforcement officials in Rhode Island announced the release of an individual initially detained as a person of interest in a shooting at Brown University that has left two dead. At a press conference late Sunday, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha stated that while initial evidence led authorities to the detained individual, further investigation pointed in a different direction.
“There was some degree of evidence that pointed to this individual, but that evidence needed to be corroborated and confirmed. That evidence now points in a different direction. So what that means is that this person of interest needs to be, and should be released,” Neronha stated. The release of the person of interest came just one day after an unidentified gunman entered an engineering classroom and fired on students studying for a final exam.
Neronha also criticized the leak of the detained individual’s identity to the media, calling it “unfortunate” and adding, “It’s hard to put that back in the bottle, OK? So we’re going to proceed very carefully here. There is too much at stake for the victims of this horrific crime and their families to take chances with respect to this investigation.”
Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez clarified that the individual released was not the person shown in surveillance footage shared by the police. “Authorities are still looking for the individual captured on video,” he noted. At the same press conference, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley reassured the public, saying, “We have not received any credible or specific threats to the Providence community.”
Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee (D) confirmed that he had informed Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel about the release of the person of interest and that federal resources would remain available for the ongoing investigation. Law enforcement continues to search for the gunman responsible for the attack.
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