Tom McArthur
Police are searching for a gunman who shot dead two students and injured nine others at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Police say the attacker was a man dressed all in black who fled on foot, and a shelter-in-place warning is in effect for the area surrounding the prestigious university.
The attack on the campus brings the number of mass shootings in the US to 389 for this year, according to the independent analysis website Gun Violence Archive.
It defines mass shootings as having four or more victims killed or injured, not including the attacker.
Here’s what we know:
What happened?
The gunman opened fire in a classroom at around 16:00 local time (21:00) on Saturday at the Holley engineering building at the eastern end of Brown’s campus, according to officials.
Final exams were taking place in the building at the time of the shooting, the school said.
Barus and Holley engineering building is a seven-story block that includes 117 laboratories, dozens of classrooms and three lecture halls.
An economics professor told local public media outlet Ocean State Radio that the shooting had taken place during a review session for her course, which was led by her teaching assistant.
“He said that the shooter came in the doors, yelled something – he couldn’t remember what he yelled – and started shooting,” Rachel Friedberg said.
“Students started to scramble to try to get away from the shooter, trying to get lower down in the stadium seating, and people got shot,” she added.
Two students studying in the nearby Rockefeller library when the active gunman alert came through told the BBC they “stayed away from the windows” as they awaited police escort.
Officers searched the floor, made them drop their bags and raise their hands before before being led out of the library, the pair said.
Brown University, one of the one of the oldest higher education institutions in the US, is part of the Ivy League, a group of elite universities in the northeast of the country.
The university, which has more than 11,000 students, is located in Providence, Rhode Island’s capital city, located about 50 miles (80km) from Boston and 180 miles (290km) from New York City.
Who are the victims?
Two students were killed, and a further nine people are being treated. Medics say one person is in a critical condition, six are “critical but stable”, and two others are less severely hurt.
The identities of those killed or injured have not yet been released, but Brown University President Christina Paxson told reporters in a press briefing that all the victims, including those killed and wounded, were students.
“This is a day that we hoped never would come to our community. It is deeply devastating for all of us,” she said in a statement.
A ninth victim did not suffer a gunshot wound, according to police, who said they suffered non-life threatening injuries from fragments from the shooting “that had occurred near them”.
Who is the gunman?
Very little is known about the gunman so far, but police have released CCTV footage of a male suspect, walking away from the scene of the shooting wearing all black clothing.
There is no weapon visible in the video, and his face is covered. Officials also say a firearm was not found in a sweep of the building on Saturday.
Investigators do not yet know if the gunman was a student, but Providence Deputy Police Chief Tim O’Hara said the suspect was a male who was dressed all in black and appeared be in his 30s.
“We’re utilising every resource possible to find this suspect,” he said.
Some witnesses reportedly told officers he may have been wearing a camouflage grey mask.
One person was arrested before police determined they were not involved in the shooting and released them.
What is the latest?
A massive operation involving police and federal agents is now underway in Providence as around 400 officers try to locate the suspect.
Residents and students near to the university have been told to stay at home and stay inside, or to stay away until the shelter-in-place is lifted.
Students in the area told the BBC they planned to stay at home until the things calm down and the gunman is caught.
US President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters as he returned to the White House from attending the annual Army and Navy football game, described the shooting as “a terrible thing”.
“All we can do right now is pray for the victims and for those that were very badly hurt,” he said.
Additional reporting by Pratiksha Ghildial
