According to officials, the shooter entered a campus building where students were taking examinations and opened fire inside a classroom at the Barus & Holley engineering building.
At least two students have been confirmed dead while nine others sustained gunshot-related injuries after a lone gunman opened fire inside Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, throwing the Ivy League campus into chaos and forcing a prolonged lockdown.
Reuters reports that more than 400 law enforcement officers were deployed across the city on Saturday as police launched a massive manhunt for the suspect, who remains at large hours after the deadly attack.
According to officials, the shooter entered a campus building where students were taking examinations and opened fire inside a classroom at the Barus & Holley engineering building.
The incident triggered panic, with students ordered to shelter in place while emergency responders flooded the area.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said authorities do not believe there is a “specific, ongoing threat,” but confirmed that the lockdown and shelter-in-place order would remain in effect to allow police carry out the initial phase of their investigation.
“"The shelter-in-place allows (law enforcement) to do their work in the first phase of the investigation,” Smiley said late Saturday.
Security was dramatically heightened around the university and across Providence as streets surrounding the campus were taken over by emergency vehicles.
Federal agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined local and state police in the search for the suspect.
Police later released a video of the alleged shooter, described as a male believed to be in his 30s and dressed entirely in black. Authorities said the suspect may have been wearing a mask, though this has not been confirmed.
Providence Deputy Police Chief Timothy O’Hara said investigators recovered shell casings from the scene but were not yet ready to disclose further forensic details.
The gunman reportedly fled the scene after the attack, escaping through an area that normally bustles with restaurants and coffee shops. Detectives are still investigating why the engineering building was targeted, police said.
Brown University President Christina Paxson confirmed that all or nearly all of the victims were students.
“This is the day one hopes never happens, and it has,” Paxson told reporters.
Hospital officials said seven of the nine injured victims were listed in critical condition as of Saturday night. The city mayor added that one of the injured persons was hit by bullet fragments.
As news of the shooting spread, terrified students hid under desks for hours. One student, Chiang-Heng Chien, told local media that he and three others waited silently under laboratory desks for nearly two hours after receiving alerts of an active shooter nearby.
Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee vowed that the suspect would be apprehended.
Authorities said the search was complicated by large crowds of holiday shoppers and thousands attending concerts and events across the city.
Several venues reportedly increased security as police combed through surveillance footage and followed up on tips from the public.
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that he had been briefed on the incident, describing it as “terrible,” and called for prayers for the victims.