What we know so far about the Brown University shooting suspect

Authorities are strongly urging the public to search for and share any potential images of a gunman who opened fire inside a Brown University classroom on Saturday, while facing increased scrutiny for the lack of major breaks in the case.

READ MORE: Students, community frustrated with official response after Brown University shooting

Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez said in a news conference Tuesday that they had discovered that the individual suspected of carrying out the deadly shooting had been in the College Hill neighborhood earlier Saturday, around 10:30 a.m. local time, and was believed to be casing the scene.

Watch the video in the player above.

“We have video footage of that and we believe that he was actually casing out this area to commit the crime,” Perez said.

The Providence Police Department released an enhanced image Tuesday showing a person who resembles other images shared by officials.

A still image from surveillance camera video released by the Providence Police Department shows a man that the police hope the public can help identify in connection with the Dec. 13, 2025, shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Photo by Providence Police Department/ Handout via Reuters

The police chief asked community members to review any footage they may have of the residential area. “Our offices, our agents are looking at terabytes of data and we’re looking for a moment that is shorter than somebody taking a breath,” he said.

Perez also asked the public to study the posture and body movements of the potential suspect captured on video, in case it sparked recognition for anyone who might help with identification.

The person of interest in connection with the Dec. 13, 2025, shooting at Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, in a screengrab from video released by the Providence Police. Photo by Providence Police/via Reuters

The shooting and its fallout has kept the Brown campus, surrounding neighborhoods and the greater Providence area on edge.

“It is going to be hard for my city to feel safe going forward,” said Providence Mayor Brett Smiley during a Monday briefing. “This has shaken us.”

WATCH: Providence community reels from deadly shooting and lockdown at Brown University

Addressing the public’s anxiety over the suspect’s whereabouts, the mayor reassured residents of increased, visible police presence in the city, intended to help put people at ease, whether they’re commuting to work or dropping children off at school.

On Tuesday, FBI Special Agent Ted Docks said the FBI has “almost 30 victim specialists, special agents and analysts from all over the country” deployed to Providence to support survivors and the loved ones of the victims.

Here’s the latest on what we know.

What do we know about the shooting?

A gunman opened fire shortly after 4 p.m. EST on Saturday, Dec. 13, inside a first-floor classroom at the Barus & Holley building, which houses Brown’s engineering and physics departments. Students at the Ivy League school had been preparing for final exams and the upcoming winter break.

READ MORE: At least 2 people killed, 8 injured in shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island

According to witness accounts, a masked man carrying a handgun entered the room and started shooting. A teaching assistant who was leading an economics class review session ahead of a final exam Tuesday told The New York Times that he hid behind a desk with about 20 students, while those in the middle rows of the classroom had the most difficulty avoiding the gunfire.

Perez said a 9 mm handgun was used in the shooting.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha noted Tuesday that the shooting took place in an older part of the Barus & Holley building, where there were “fewer, if any cameras.” A recent addition to the original building added cameras to the newer section, Neronha said.

What do we know about the suspect?

Videos and images from the surrounding residential neighborhood show a man in dark clothing wearing a dark surgical-style mask and hat. The person’s face isn’t clearly visible in the images.

The FBI described the individual as a male who’s about 5 feet 8 inches tall with a stocky build.

An image posted to FBI Director Kash Patel’s X account and shown at a news conference shows a person described as an unknown suspect in the Brown University shooting, Dec. 15, 2025. Photo by FBI/ Handout via Reuters

Officials encouraged the public to come forward with any information about the suspect in the visuals. The FBI’s Boston field office offered a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the identification, arrest and conviction of the shooter.

Authorities have yet to determine a motive.

What do we know about the person of interest who was released?

Police faced a major setback on Sunday when they weren’t able to connect a prior “person of interest” to the shooting.

READ MORE: Authorities release person of interest detained in Brown University shooting

Following up on an anonymous tip, police detained a 24-year-old Wisconsin man Sunday at a hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island, but released the individual later that night because there was no basis to hold them.

Neronha reiterated in briefings that this person was “cleared” and no longer a person of interest. He and other officials stressed that this kind of development reflects how an investigation can shift and lead them in a different direction.

Who were the victims?

The two people killed in the shooting were undergraduate students at Brown.

MuhammadAziz Umurzakov was a first-year student from Midlothian, Virginia, who “had big dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon,” his sister said in a GoFundMe campaign. while writing that her brother was “incredibly kind, funny, and smart.” The family members are naturalized citizens who left Uzbekistan for the United States in 2011.

Ella Cook was a sophomore from Mountain Brook, Alabama, who served as vice president of Brown’s chapter of College Republicans of America. The group released a statement Sunday to offer condolences and paid tribute to Cook’s “bold, brave, and kind heart.”

WATCH: Brown University student says there’s still ‘fear in the air’ as hunt for gunman continues

“These were two young people whose amazing promise was extinguished too soon,” Brown University President Christina H. Paxson said in a statement Tuesday. “Both were at or near the beginning of their Brown journey — actually, they were at the beginning of a lot of things.”

School officials have not released the names of the students who were injured in the attack, due to privacy concerns.

Frustrations grow in the shooting aftermath

Brown officials decided to cancel all remaining classes, exams, papers and projects for the semester.

Officials’ renewed calls for help with identifying the shooter has raised questions over the lack of video footage on campus. In briefings, officials said there were few cameras in and nearby the Barus & Holley building that was targeted in the shooting.

Some Brown students, including those who had hid for hours on campus during the school’s shelter-in-place order, told reporters that their longheld sense of safety in the small city had been broken and that they felt vulnerable with the shooter still at large.

READ MORE: Additional police sent to Providence schools to calm fears with the Brown University shooter still loose

“We’re hearing a great deal of anxiety coming from families and students and the general public, and that’s one of the reasons why our state police has supported the Providence schools with presence as school begins and school ends, in support of the mayor and his efforts to support the schools,” Gov. Dan McKee said at the news conference Tuesday.

Though the mayor has repeatedly said there was no new credible threat to Brown and the greater community, some private schools around Providence stayed closed on Monday. Providence Public Schools cancelled all after-school activities, sports and field trips for the week “out of an abundance of caution.”

Some college students in the city have signed a petition for greater security at school buildings, the Associated Press reported.

“We’ve met with all the university presidents in the state of Rhode Island,” McKee noted Tuesday. “We know that we want to start a working group that will talk about enhancing the safety issues.”