Investigators seek older video that might show the Brown campus shooter days before the attack

This image taken from video provided by the FBI shows a person of interest in the investigation of the shooting that occurred at Brown University, in Providence, R.I., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (FBI via AP)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Authorities searching for a shooter who attacked students Saturday at Brown University are asking for tips from people who might have video of the shooter potentially casing the area the week before.

Authorities have released several videos from the day of the attack, which left two students dead and nine wounded, showing the person they’re seeking on streets just off campus. The person is wearing a mask or has their head turned in the footage.

“I believe that this is probably the most intense investigation going on right now in this nation” Providence’s police chief, Col. Oscar Perez, said at a Wednesday news conference. He said witness accounts of the shooter match the person in the videos.

While Brown has 1,200 cameras on campus, the attack was in an older classroom that has “fewer, if any” cameras, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said. Investigators believe the shooter used a door that faces a residential street.

U.S. President Donald Trump accused the Ivy League school of being unprepared. He posted Wednesday on Truth Social: “Why did Brown University have so few Security Cameras? There can be no excuse for that. In the modern age, it just doesn’t get worse!!!”

Where the investigation stands

Investigators have described the person they’re seeking as about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 centimetres) tall and stocky, but they’ve given no indication that they are close to zeroing in on their identity.

Motive also remain a mystery, though Perez said investigators haven’t found evidence to suggest someone was targeted.

Authorities have been canvassing nearby neighbourhoods and have received hundreds of tips.

Providence police on Wednesday released a new photo of a separate individual who they said was in “proximity of the person of interest” and asked the public to help identify that person.

Felipe Rodriguez, a retired New York Police Department detective sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said it is very rare for authorities to make this kind of plea during a criminal investigation.

“They are grasping at straws,” he said.

Neronha said it wouldn’t help the investigation to release video of fleeing students and other footage from the attack.

Perez declined to say how many witnesses police had spoken to or how many people were in the classroom during the attack. He said his department is hoping more students with information will come forward.

But many students have already gone home. After the shooting, the remaining classes and exams before winter break were cancelled.

Meanwhile, Boston-area police are searching for the person who killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor earlier this week. That professor was attacked at home, and the FBI said it had no reason to think the two attacks were linked.

Brown said early-decision admission offers that were delayed after the shooting will be released Wednesday evening.

Campus security comes under scrutiny

The attack and shooter’s escape have raised questions about campus security.

Paxson said Brown has two security systems. One, which is activated in emergencies, sent out text messages, phone calls and emails that reached 20,000 people. The other features three sirens across the campus and was not activated Saturday. Paxson said doing so would have caused people to rush into buildings, including where the shooter was.

Brown’s website says the sirens can be used when there is a shooter, but Paxson said it depends on circumstances such as location.

There have also been questions about the investigation and why no one is in custody.

Katherine Schweit, retired FBI agent and mass shooting expert, said typically in these types of targeted, public attacks, shooters kill themselves or authorities kill them or arrest them where they attack, but when shooters get away the search can take time. She pointed to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombers and the Army reservist who opened fire in Maine in 2023.

“The best they can do is what they do now, which is continue to press together all of the facts they have as fast as they can,” she said. “And really the best hope for solutions is going to come from the public.”

Rodriguez said it’s clear shooters are learning from others who were caught.

“Most of the time an active shooter is going to go in, and he’s going to try to commit what we call maximum carnage, maximum damage,” he said. “And at this point, they’re actually trying to get away. And they’re actually evading police with an effective methodology, which I haven’t seen before.”

A city on edge

Providence remained tense Wednesday. Additional police were at schools to reassure worried parents. Some afterschool activities and field trips were cancelled.

Hundreds of residents have signed up for a city text alert service since the shooting, officials said.

Brown cautioned people against accusing others online of having any link to the attack. Speculation led to a student’s identifying information being posted online, the university said.

Honouring the victims

About 200 people honored the victims Tuesday at a campus church service.

The shooter killed Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore from Alabama who was very involved in her church and served as vice president of the Brown College Republicans; and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman from Virginia whose family immigrated to the U.S. from Uzbekistan and who hoped to go to medical school.

Mayor Brett Smiley said Wednesday that a third wounded student had been discharged, leaving five still hospitalized in stable condition and one in critical condition.

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Kimberlee Kruesi And Leah Willingham, The Associated Press

Contributing were Associated Press journalists Jennifer McDermott, Matt O’Brien and Robert F. Bukaty in Providence; Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu.