America suffered yet another mass shooting this weekend where two people were killed and nine others were injured. This time, the carnage took place at Brown University on Saturday, Dec. 13, just after 4 p.m.
Although a person of interest was initially detained and questioned, according to ABC News, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley announced that the person has been released from police custody, stating the evidence “now points in a different direction.” The unnamed person was allegedly in possession of two handguns at the time that he was approached by law enforcement.
“Tonight, we announced that the person of interest is being released. The investigation has been ongoing and remains fully active between all agencies,” the Providence Police Department said in a statement early on Monday. “Since the first call to 911, we have not received any specific threats to our community.”
Smiley did not clear the released person of any connection to the shooting, but federal and local law enforcement agencies are actively engaged in a manhunt for the actual perpetrator.
Source: Anadolu / Getty
The mayor did his best to quell community fears that a homicidal maniac was still walking the streets of their city.
“We understand that there’s a high degree of anxiety and after this individual was released last night, I understand that anxiety level has risen in our community,” Smiley told ABC News on Monday. “But it’s no different than a day ago, which is that we’ve received [and] continue to receive zero credible threats to our community, Brown or the broader community.”
The FBI has released a video of another person of interest who was seen wearing hooded dark clothing with their hands in their pockets, walking along Hope Street.
Donald Trump offered soulless platitudes to the Brown community in a public response to news of the shooting.
“Brown University, great school…really one of the greatest schools anywhere in the world,” Trump said Sunday, Dec. 14, at a White House Christmas reception. “Things can happen. So to the nine injured—get well fast; and to the families of those two that are no longer with us, I pay my deepest regards and respects from the United States of America.”
BOSSIP will provide more information about the potential suspect and the shooting victims as police make it available.
