Search for the Brown University shooter continues as questions swirl
about campus security
[December 16, 2025]
By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and LEAH WILLINGHAM
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Authorities knocked on doors and scoured yards
Monday in search of any video or other evidence that might lead them to
the Brown University gunman, whose face was covered or not visible in
footage captured before and after the weekend attack that killed two
students and wounded nine others.
Officials released three new videos of the man they believe carried out
Saturday's attack that show him wearing a mask and a dark two-tone
jacket. Although his face wasn't visible, the footage from about two
hours before the shooting provided the clearest images yet of the
suspect.
The FBI said the man is about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 centimeters) tall,
with a stocky build. The agency offered a $50,000 reward for information
leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person
responsible.
"We’re asking for the public’s assistance,” Providence's police chief,
Col. Oscar Perez, said at a news conference, urging people who might
recognize the suspect to call a tip line.
Police renewed their search after releasing a person of interest Sunday
once they determined the evidence pointed elsewhere. Meanwhile, details
began to emerge about the students who were shot.
The lockdown order for the Ivy League school was lifted Sunday after
authorities said they had detained the person of interest. But hopes for
a quick resolution were dashed when they announced hours later that they
had released him.
The abrupt change of direction marked a setback in the investigation as
questions swirl about campus security, the apparent lack of school video
evidence and whether the focus on the person of interest gave the
attacker more time to escape.
Colin Moussette, who has friends at Brown and is considering enrolling
next fall, said while visiting the campus Monday that he felt uneasy
knowing the suspect hadn't been caught.
“How someone got away, like in the middle of the day is, to me, not only
heartbreaking but very concerning,” he said. “How they got access to the
building is concerning.”
New video emerges
Before Monday's news conference, police released a second video showing
someone dressed in black walking along a city street minutes after the
shooting. The video — like one released the day of the shooting — didn't
show the suspect's face.
In a neighborhood near the university, a line of officers scraped their
feet through a snow-covered yard looking for evidence. Meanwhile, agents
identifying themselves as U.S. marshals asked locals if they had
security cameras.
Attorney General Peter Neronha, who said Sunday that there weren't many
cameras where the attack happened, said Monday that investigators were
“making steady progress."
Law enforcement on Monday appeared to still be performing basic of
investigative tasks, including tracing the suspect’s movements in the
minutes after the attack and searching for evidence near the crime
scene.
“I was really glad to see that they were doing something,” said
Katherine Baima, who lives in the area. “This is the first time any of
us in my building, as far as I know, had heard from anyone. We hadn’t
gotten alerts and we were really surprised that there hadn’t been anyone
searching, let alone knocking on doors, on the first night.”
One of the dead was active in church.
The other overcame health concerns
The shooting happened in an auditorium-style classroom where students in
a study group were preparing for an upcoming exam.
Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore who was vice president of the Brown
College Republicans and beloved in her church in Birmingham, Alabama,
was one of the students killed, according to her pastor at home.
In announcing her death Sunday, the Rev. R. Craig Smalley described Cook
as “an incredible grounded, faithful, bright light” who encouraged and
“lifted up those around her."
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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)
“Ella was known for her bold, brave, and kind heart as she served
her chapter and her fellow classmates,” Martin Bertao, the president
of the club, said in a message posted on X.
The other student who was killed was MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an
18-year-old freshman majoring in biochemistry and neuroscience. He
was helping a friend at a review session for an economics final when
he was shot, his sister said.
As a child, Umurzokov suffered a neurological condition that
required surgery, and he later wore a back brace because of
scoliosis, said Samira Umurzokova, noting that the family immigrated
to the U.S. from Uzbekistan when she, her brother and sister were
young.
“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 told the AP by phone Monday.
Only one of the nine people wounded 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. Mayor
Brett Smiley said Monday evening that none of their conditions had
worsened, but that he didn't have further information.
Durham Academy, a private K-12 school in Durham, North Carolina,
confirmed that a recent graduate, Kendall Turner, was critically
wounded and that her parents were with her. “Our school community is
rallying around Kendall, her classmates, and her loved ones,” the
school said in a statement.
Another wounded student, 18-year-old freshman Spencer Yang of New
York City, told the New York Times and the Brown Daily Herald from a
hospital bed that there was a mad scramble after the gunman entered
the room where he and the other students were studying for finals.
Many students ran toward the front of the room, but Yang said he
wound up on the ground between some seats and was shot in the leg.
Yang, who expects to be discharged in the coming days, said he tried
to keep some of the more seriously wounded students conscious until
police arrived.
Questions are raised about campus security
Brown was no longer on lockdown and the city’s schools were open
Monday. But some colleges and universities, including in Rhode
Island and some Ivy League schools, were increasing security in
light of the attack. Yale said extra security would be in place for
Hanukkah celebrations.
The shooting occurred as final exams were underway at Brown, one of
the nation's oldest and most prestigious schools.
Investigators were not immediately sure how the shooter got inside
the first-floor classroom.
The attack set off hours of chaos on campus and in the surrounding
neighborhoods, as hundreds of officers searched for the shooter.
Li Ding, a Rhode Island School of Design student who is on a dance
team at Brown, was upset that there wasn’t better security on
campus.
“The fact that we’re in such a surveillance state but that wasn’t
used correctly at all is just so deeply frustrating,” Ding 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.
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