Brown University Shooting Leaves Two Dead and Eight Injured in Providence

Sun Dec 14 2025 09:50:38 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

A shooting during finals at Brown University results in two fatalities and several critical injuries as police hunt for the suspect.

A tragic incident at Brown University occurred Saturday afternoon when a shooter opened fire in a campus building, leading to the deaths of two individuals and leaving eight others critically injured. The school, which was in the midst of final examinations, issued a shelter-in-place order as law enforcement launched an extensive search for the suspect, who fled the scene dressed in black. Providence's Mayor expressed deep sorrow over the violence, a scene which he stated was a tragic first for their community. This event adds to the growing list of school shootings across the United States, raising concerns about safety at educational institutions.

A shooting Saturday at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, left two people dead and at least eight other critically injured. Authorities were still searching for a suspect in the hours afterward.

The shooting occurred on a Saturday afternoon in a campus building with final exams underway. The suspect was dressed in black and left the building on foot, officials said.

The violence prompted a shelter-in-place order for the larger university area. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said “we have all available resources” to find the suspect.

“Sadly, today is a day that the city of Providence and the state of Rhode Island prayed would never come,” the mayor said. “We’ve heard about horrific acts of gun violence and active shooter situations in other places, but not here.”

Brown is a private institution with roughly 7,300 undergraduate students and more than 3,000 graduate students.

Here is a look at other deadly shootings on U.S. college campuses in recent decades:

KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY: December 2025, 1 dead

A shooting at a residence hall at the public historically Black university left one student dead and another critically injured. The suspect, who is a parent of a student, faces murder and assault charges.