A person of interest who was detained in connection with a deadly shooting at Brown University in the US will be released shortly, local officials have said.
Providence Police Chief Col Oscar Perez stated that there was not enough evidence to prosecute the detained individual, while Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha noted that the evidence now points in a different direction.
The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are actively searching for additional video evidence to aid in tracking down the actual suspect, according to the local mayor.
Two people were killed, and nine others were injured when a gunman opened fire at the Ivy League university in Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday.
During a joint news conference on Sunday, Col Perez remarked that investigators did not believe the detained person matched the individual captured in CCTV footage released on the day of the attack, which showed a suspect fleeing the scene in dark clothing.
FBI Director Kash Patel informed that the detained person was taken into custody at a hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island, early Sunday morning based on a lead from Providence Police.
Col Perez confirmed that authorities were no longer searching for anyone else and that they are collaborating with prosecutors to gather more evidence.
At an earlier press briefing, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley informed that seven of the injured remained stable, one was in critical condition, and another had been discharged.
The gunman reportedly opened fire in a classroom around 4:00 PM local time on Saturday at the Holley engineering building on Brown's campus.
While the identities of the deceased and most injured have not been made public, Brown University President Christina Paxson confirmed all victims were students.
One injured individual, Kendall Turner, is an alumna of Durham Academy, a private school in North Carolina.
Upon addressing the university community, President Paxson expressed condolences to the victims' families and updated that police investigations were ongoing with some campus areas still restricted.
Approximately 2,000 students were relocated to safe locations overnight, with community members offering their homes for safety.
A vigil for the victims will be held this evening, as President Trump publicly wished for the rapid recovery of the nine injured students and extended sympathies to the families of the deceased.
This incident adds to the growing concern over mass shootings in the US, with 389 reported this year alone, defined as events where four or more victims are killed or injured, excluding the attacker.
