Police fan out to Providence schools to calm worries with the Brown University shooter still loose

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Additional police were sent to Providence schools on Tuesday to reassure worried parents that their kids will be safe with the Brown University shooter on the loose and no indication yet that investigators have zeroed in on a specific suspect.

Authorities on Monday released several new videos of the man suspected in Saturday's mass shooting inside of a Brown classroom, which killed two students and wounded nine others. After releasing a person of interest in the case Sunday because the evidence pointed elsewhere, they once again pleaded with the public for any tips that might help them catch the attacker.

Tensions remain high in Providence. With the investigation in its third day Monday, officers were still knocking on doors and poring through dumpsters and backyards near the Ivy League campus in search of additional video evidence or other clues.

But some locals expressed defiance.

“Of course it feels scary. But at the same time, I think that if the person really wanted to scare us, we shouldn’t allow him or her to win," said Tatjana Stojanovic, a Providence parent who lives next door to the university campus. "Despite all of that, we should just go about our lives. I mean, obviously, you cannot forget this. But I think we shouldn’t cower and just sort of stop living despite what has happened.

In the five videos authorities have released of the suspect, he was wearing a mask or his face was turned. The FBI described him as about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 centimeters) tall, with a stocky build.

The attack and the shooter's escape have raised questions about campus security, prompting criticism about lack of security cameras and leading some to call for better locks on campus doors. Others pushed back, though, saying such efforts do little to address the real issue.

“The issue isn’t the doors, it’s the guns,” said Zoe Kass, a senior at Brown. “And all of this, like, ‘Oh, the doors need to be locked.’ I get it, parents are scared. But any of us could have opened the door for the guy if the doors had been locked.”

After spending of her life in schools where every door was locked and school shootings continued to persist, Kass said such security measures only created “the illusion of safety.”

Meanwhile, details have begun to emerge about the victims, who were in the first-floor classroom in the school's engineering building studying for a final.

Only one of the wounded students had been released as of Sunday, Brown President Christina Paxson said. One was in critical condition and the other seven were in critical but stable condition. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said Monday that none of their conditions had worsened, but that he didn’t have further information.

One of the wounded students, 18-year-old freshman Spencer Yang of New York City, told the New York Times and the Brown Daily Herald that there was a mad scramble after the gunman entered the room. Many students ran toward the front, but Yang said he wound up on the ground between some seats and was shot in the leg. He expected to be discharged within days.

Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore who was one of the two students killed, was vice president of the Brown College Republicans and beloved in her church in Birmingham, Alabama.

In announcing her death Sunday, the Rev. R. Craig Smalley described her as “an incredible grounded, faithful, bright light” who encouraged and “lifted up those around her.”

The other student who was killed was MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman from Brandermill, Virginia, who was majoring in biochemistry and neuroscience. His family immigrated to the U.S. from Uzbekistan when he was a kid.

As a child, Umurzokov suffered a neurological condition that required surgery, and he later wore a back brace because of scoliosis, his sister Samira Umurzokova told The Associated Press by phone. He knew from an early age that he wanted to be a neurosurgeon to help others like himself.

“He had so many hardships in his life, and he got into this amazing school and tried so hard to follow through with the promise he made when was 7 years old,” she said.

Contributing were Associated Press journalists Jennifer McDermott and Matt O'Brien in Providence; Brian Slodysko in Washington; Michael Casey in Boston; Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas.

A memorial of flowers and signs lay outside the Barus and Holley engineering building at Brown University, on Hope Street in Providence, R.I., on Tuesday, Dec 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt OBrien)

Brown University senior Zoe Kass and her boyfriend return to the engineering building they fled Saturday to leave flowers on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Matt OBrien)

A classroom in Brown University's Barus and Holley building is pictured two days after a shooting occurred inside the building. in Providence, R.I., Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (Lily Speredelozzi/The Sun Chronicle via AP)

This combo image made with photos provided by the FBI and the Providence, Rhode Island, Police Department shows a person of interest in the shooting that occurred at Brown University in Providence, R.I., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (FBI/Providence Police Department via AP)

A makeshift memorial is seen on the campus of Brown University, close to from the scene of the shooting, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Members of the FBI Evidence Response Team search for evidence near the campus of Brown University, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Visitors pause at a makeshift memorial for the victims of Saturday's shooting, at the Van Wickle Gate at Brown University, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I.(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — With the Brown University shooter still on the loose Tuesday, police fanned out to Providence schools to reassure parents, kids and teachers as investigators pushed for new evidence that might help them crack the case.

Here's a look at what to know about the attack and the search:

Police have released five videos of the man suspected in Saturday's attack in an engineering building classroom, where two students were killed and nine others were wounded. None of the videos showed the man's face, which was either turned away or masked. But three videos released Monday provided the clearest images yet of the suspect, whom the FBI described as stocky and about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 centimeters) tall.

Authorities on Sunday released a person of interest after determining he wasn't behind the attack, which happened in a first-floor classroom where students were cramming for an exam.

The gunman fired more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

One of the wounded students, 18-year-old freshman Spencer Yang of New York City, told the New York Times and the Brown Daily Herald that there was a mad scramble after the gunman entered the room. Many students ran toward the front, but Yang said he wound up on the ground between some seats and was shot in the leg. He expected to be discharged within days.

The students who died were MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman from Brandermill, Virginia, and Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore from a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. Umurzokov was an aspiring neurosurgeon and Cook was a student leader of Brown's campus Republicans.

As of Sunday, one of the nine wounded students had been released from the hospital, one was in critical condition and seven others were in critical but stable condition, university President Christina Paxson said. Their conditions hadn't worsened as of Monday, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said, adding that he didn’t have further information.

Authorities on Monday asked neighborhood residents and businesses for surveillance video that might help identify the attacker. They have said that one reason they lacked video of the shooter was because Brown’s engineering building doesn’t have many cameras.

Investigators were still performing basic investigative tasks days after the shooting, leaving some students and locals frustrated by the police response.

Kristy dosReis, a Providence police spokeswoman, said that at no point did the investigation stand down even after officials appeared to have a breakthrough in the case when they detained the person of interest they later released.

Levi Neuwirth, who said he was a Brown senior who used to have class in the room where the shooting happened, said anxiety is high on campus. But he said students and the rest of the Brown community have been supporting each other and displaying extra kindness.

“Campus is on edge, mourning, grieving, processing, all of the above that folks would expect,” said Neuwirth, of Wallkill, New York. “But I would really highlight that the major sentiment I feel and I know many of my peers feel is a strong sense of community, of love. We have each other’s backs.”

Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Contributing were Associated Press reporters Kimberlee Kruesi, Amanda Swinhart, Robert F. Bukaty and Jennifer McDermott in Providence; Michael Casey in Boston; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; Kathy McCormack and Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and Alanna Durkin Richer, Mike Balsamo and Eric Tucker in Washington.

A memorial of flowers and signs lay outside the Barus and Holley engineering building at Brown University, on Hope Street in Providence, R.I., on Tuesday, Dec 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt OBrien)

A community member looks at flowers, notes and mementos in a makeshift memorial display sitting in front of Brown University's Van Wickle gates, in Providence, R.I., two days after a shooting took place on the university's campus, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (Lily Speredelozzi/The Sun Chronicle via AP)

This combo image made with photos provided by the FBI and the Providence, Rhode Island, Police Department shows a person of interest in the shooting that occurred at Brown University in Providence, R.I., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (FBI/Providence Police Department via AP)

Members of the FBI Evidence Response Team search for evidence near the campus of Brown University, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A police vehicle is parked at an intersection near crime scene tape at Brown University, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., following a Saturday shooting at the university. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Passers-by walk past crime scene tape at an entrance to Brown University, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., following the Saturday, Dec. 13, shooting at the university. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Police tape off hotel rooms where the person of interest was arrested in a shooting, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Coventry, R.I. (AP Photo/Kimberlee Kruesi)

People hold candles during a vigil, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., for those injured or killed during the Saturday shooting on Brown University campus. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A bouquet of flowers rests on snow, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, on the campus of Brown University not far from where a shooting took place, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)