Police are searching for the gunman who shot and killed two students and wounded nine others at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Police say the attacker was a man dressed all in black who fled on foot, and a shelter-in-place warning is in effect for the area surrounding the prestigious university.
The campus attack brings the number of mass shootings in the U.S. this year to 389, according to the independent analysis website Gun Violence Archive.
It defines mass shootings as those in which four or more victims are killed or injured, not including the attacker.
This is what we know:
What happened?
The gunman opened fire in a classroom around 4:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m.) Saturday in the Holley Engineering Building on the east end of Brown’s campus, according to authorities.
Final exams were being held in the building at the time of the shooting, the school said.
The Barus and Holley Engineering Building is a seven-story block that includes 117 laboratories, dozens of classrooms and three conference rooms.
An economics professor told local public outlet Ocean State Radio that the shooting had occurred during a review session for her course, which was led by her teaching assistant.
“He said the shooter came through the doors, yelled something (he didn’t remember what he yelled) and started shooting,” Rachel Friedberg said.
“Students began to fight to try to get away from the shooter, trying to get further down into the stadium seats, and people were shot,” he added.
Two students who were studying at the nearby Rockefeller Library when the active gunman alert came in told the BBC that they “stayed away from the windows” while they waited for a police escort.
Officers searched the floor, made them put down their bags and raise their hands before being led out of the library, the couple said.
Brown University, one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the United States, is part of the Ivy League, a group of elite universities in the northeast of the country.
The university, which has more than 11,000 students, is located in Providence, the capital of Rhode Island, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Boston and 180 miles (290 kilometers) from New York City.
Who are the victims?
Two students died and nine other people are being treated. Doctors say one person is in critical condition, six are “critical but stable” and two others are less seriously injured.
The identities of those killed or injured have not yet been made public, but Brown University President Christina Paxson told reporters at a news conference that all of the victims, including those killed and injured, were students.
“This is a day we hoped would never come to our community. It is deeply devastating for all of us,” he said in a statement.
A ninth victim did not suffer gunshot wounds, according to police, who said he suffered non-life-threatening injuries from fragments of the shooting “that had occurred near them.”
Who is the gunman?
Very little is known about the gunman so far, but police have released CCTV footage of a male suspect, walking away from the scene of the shooting dressed all in black.
No weapon is seen in the video and his face is covered. Authorities also say no firearm was found in a sweep of the building on Saturday.
Investigators do not yet know if the gunman was a student, but Providence Deputy Police Chief Tim O’Hara said the suspect was a man dressed all in black and appeared to be in his 30s.
“We are using every resource possible to find this suspect,” he said.
Some witnesses reportedly told officers he may have been wearing a gray camouflage mask.
One person was arrested before police determined he was not involved in the shooting and released him.
What’s the latest?
A massive operation involving police and federal agents is underway in Providence as around 400 agents attempt to locate the suspect.
Residents and students near the university have been told to stay at home and indoors, or stay away until the lockdown is lifted.
Students in the area told the BBC they planned to stay home until things calmed down and the gunman was caught.
US President Donald Trump spoke to reporters as he returned to the White House after attending the annual Army-Navy football game and described the shooting as “a terrible thing.”
“All we can do now is pray for the victims and those who were seriously injured,” he said.
Additional information by Pratiksha Ghildial
