(NEW YORK) — Federal and local law enforcement officials in Rhode Island were continuing their search early on Monday for an assailant who fatally shot two Brown University students on Saturday in an academic building in Providence.
A person of interest in the case, who had been taken into custody early on Sunday, was released later in the day, after authorities said that there was no basis to continue detaining them.
“Tonight, we announced that the person of interest is being released. The investigation has been ongoing and remains fully active between all agencies,” the Providence Police Department said in a statement early on Monday. “Since the first call to 911, we have not received any specific threats to our community.”
Two people were killed and nine were injured in the shooting, according to officials. The injured victims were transported to local hospitals amid a day of “devastating gun violence,” Christina H. Paxson, the university’s president, said in a statement posted early on Sunday.
“Every year, emergency responders and students drill for the unthinkable — a shooting at our schools,” Gov. Dan McKee said in his own statement. “Yesterday, that action became all too real when a gunman opened fire on a classroom of innocent Brown University students.”
The FBI and other law enforcement officials shared a short video clip of someone whom they described as a person of interest. The individual in the clip is seen dressed in dark clothing, including what appeared to be a hood, as they walk along Hope Street and take a corner heading north.
The person’s right hand appeared to be in their jacket pocket as they walked northward along Waterman Street before exiting from the frame.
Officials said they still believe the person seen in that video is a person of interest in the shooting.
The person of interest who was detained and released on Sunday was initially caught at about 3:45 a.m. at a hotel in Coventry, about 28 miles south of Providence, according to law enforcement sources and Coventry police.
Law enforcement sources described the person of interest as a man in his mid-20s from Wisconsin. At the time the person was detained, the individual was allegedly in possession of two guns, according to sources.
There was “no basis” to keep the person detained, Attorney General of Rhode Island Peter Neronha said.
“Sometimes you head in one direction and have to regroup and go in another,” Neronha said. “That’s exactly what’s happened over the last 24 hours or so.”
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