FBI Reveals How Person of Interest Captured Before Release

Two people were killed, and nine others were injured in the shooting, officials say.

Police patrol Brown University following a mass shooting that left at least two people dead and nine others injured, in Providence, R.I., on Dec. 14, 2025. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Providence and Rhode Island officials said on Sunday evening that a person of interest in a shooting at Brown University over the weekend was released, coming hours after the FBI revealed how that individual was detained.

“We will be releasing the person of interest who had been detained earlier today,” Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said in a news conference Sunday.

“We have a murderer out there, frankly,” added Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha in the news conference.

Earlier on Sunday, FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post on X that the bureau used geolocation capabilities to track down the individual before the person was released.

Two people were killed, and nine others were injured, according to Providence Mayor Brett Smiley. Brown University President Christina Paxson said she was told that 10 of the people who were shot were students. Another person was struck by fragments from the shooting, authorities said.

“We activated the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team, to provide critical geolocation capabilities,” Patel said in an update on X on Sunday. Patel said that the FBI, authorities in Providence, the U.S. Marshals Service, and other agencies were then able to detain a person of interest in the case. The suspect was found in a hotel room in Coventry, Rhode Island, he said.

Smiley invited residents to gather Sunday evening in a city park where an event had been scheduled to light a Christmas tree and Hanukkah menorah.

“For those who know at least a bit of the Hanukkah story, it is quite clear that if we can come together as a community to shine a little bit of light tonight, there’s nothing better that we can be doing,” he told reporters.

Smiley said he visited some of the wounded students and was inspired by their courage, hope, and gratitude. One told him that active shooting drills from high school proved helpful.

The FBI also “deployed local and national resources to process and reconstruct the shooting scene—providing HQ and Lab elements on scene,” Patel said in his post, referring to FBI headquarters and laboratory resources. “We set up a digital media intake portal to ingest images and video from the public related to this incident.

“And the FBI’s victim specialists are fully integrating with our partners to provide resources to victims and survivors of this horrific violence,” he said.

In response to the shooting, Brown University announced Sunday that all remaining classes and academic activities for the semester will be postponed indefinitely.

“Given the deeply tragic events that took place on our campus yesterday, all remaining undergraduate, graduate and medical classes, exams, and papers or projects for the Fall 2025 semester will not take place as scheduled,” Provost Francis J. Doyle said in a statement. “This choice was made out of our profound concern for all students, faculty and staff on our campus.”

Doyle added that students of Brown, a private university, are free to leave the campus if they are able to.

On Saturday, President Donald Trump briefly addressed the shooting, saying, “What a terrible thing it is and all we can do right now is pray for the victims and those that are very badly hurt.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.