Brown University Shooting: Person of Interest Released as Manhunt Continues

Providence, Rhode Island Mayor Brett Smiley said that a person of interest detained in connection with the horrific mass shooting at Brown University was freed, but a manhunt is still ongoing into a third day. State Attorney General Peter Neronha stated that the evidence “now points in a different direction,” although he did not provide specifics.

Exams and classes have been halted at the Ivy League school after two students were killed and nine more were injured in the attack. The mayor called on locals to unite and “shine a little bit of light” during a Sunday vigil in a neighboring park.

At least 75 school shootings in the US this year preceded the bloodshed. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been at least 391 mass shootings and 13,929 shooting deaths nationwide so far in 2025.

After a person of interest was released, authorities now need to review all of the evidence as the manhunt for a suspect in the Brown University shooting continues.

“No investigation is perfect and you’re going to go through ups and downs,” Steve Moore, a retired FBI Special Agent and CNN Law Enforcement Analyst, told Rosemary Church.

Restarting the inquiry is part of the solution, according to Moore, since whatever led officials to the person “was obviously an error.”

“So you pretty much have to throw out, not the evidence, but the conclusions from the evidence,” he stated. “And you start, basically, as if you’re seeing the evidence for the first time and say ‘Where should this lead us?’”

The fact that the gunman hasn’t attacked again, according to Moore, is promising and should reassure the community that there isn’t an immediate threat.

“It would indicate to me that they didn’t have further plans for violence. So to me, it mitigates towards people having a reason to feel safer,” he added.