Person Detained Over Shooting That Killed Two Brown University Students To Be Released

A person who was detained over the shooting that killed two students at Brown University is set to be released, American officials said on Sunday. They added that the manhunt for the suspect has resumed.

“I think it’s fair to say there’s no basis to consider him a person of interest,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha told reporters. “That’s why he’s being released.”

“I’ve been around long enough to know that sometimes you head in one direction and then you have to regroup and go in another and that’s exactly what has happened over the last 24 hours or so,” Neronha further added.

A shooter opened fire on Saturday at the elite Ivy League university in Providence, Rhode Island, when students were taking exams. It led to a campus lockdown and an hours-long hunt for the suspect. At least nine other people were wounded. The gunman opened fire inside a classroom in the engineering building, firing more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun. One of the firearms was equipped with a laser sight that projects a dot to aid in targeting, an official said.

On Sunday morning, American officials detained a person of interest in the mass shooting, which was the latest in a long line of school attacks in the United States.

Brown University President Christina Paxson confirmed in a letter to community members that all 11 victims were students.

“Shortly, we will be releasing the person of interest who had been detained earlier today,” Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said on Sunday.

Officials provided few details on the status of the investigation and said that they would continue to pursue the suspect.

“Obviously, we have a murderer out there, frankly, and so we’re not going to give away the game plan,” Neronha said.

Police released 10 seconds of footage of the suspect, seen from behind, walking briskly down a deserted street after opening fire inside a first-floor classroom.