"... after officials said a person of interest detained earlier was released because they could not find enough evidence connecting him to the shooting.Mayor Brett Smiley of Providence, R.I., said Sunday night that officials had no way of knowing if the attacker that sent the Ivy League campus into lockdown on Saturday was still in the city.... Brown officials said exams would not be held as scheduled for the rest of the semester, and that students were free to go home. 'For the moment, we encourage everyone to focus on their own safety and well-being,' the provost said...."
The NYT reports.
How was someone who was seen by so many people able to leave the scene and escape capture or even identification? Weren't there cameras? Isn't there technology to identify people from photographs?
I asked Grok those questions, and the answer seems to be that the gunman wore a mask, slipped out of the room quickly, and, once on the street, walked casually and blended into the crowd. Students in the room were focused on running or hiding, not looking at the man. There actually weren't many cameras in the building, and there's no footage of the shooting. There seems to be no usable photograph of his face.
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60 comments:
There's too much poetry in that pull quote. You can't search for someone you haven't identified. If a search gets dragged through time that means it's being pulled by something.
Still in the 72 hours for me but curious. Has anyone explained what the students were doing on campus on a Saturday evening in December? Finals prep? Student event?
If it was a random act, how would a perp know students would be at that location on a Saturday evening?
"a perp know students would be at that location on a Saturday evening"
Isn't it easy to find campus events on line?
It used to bother me, back when I was teaching, that anyone in the world could see exactly where I would be at specific times for many hours. I got death threats during the Wisconsin protests.
Not disagreeing, but if that is so, wouldn’t the media have been able to find the event and tell us?
" the answer seems to be that the gunman wore a mask, slipped out of the room quickly, and, once on the street, walked casually and blended into the crowd."
That just restates the question. How was he able just to slip out of the room quickly? Weren't there a lot of people around? How does a masked guy dressed in all black blend into the crowd so easily?
The cost of DE&I at the heart of these questions?
Isn't it easy to find campus events on line?
I guess it depends upon if the gathered were a Jewish group that invited campus or an informal economics study group. I’ve seen both accounts. Which is correct? Given the state of media I have no idea…
How could the perp evade capture? Given the state of politics I unfortunately find myself believing I have some idea…
People get away with murder everyday
Interesting we know more about the murders in Australia and at Rob Reiner’s private home, than we do a location with 800 cameras.
I've watched the video the police released of the shooter. I'd like to understand what's happening with the rifle forensics, as I see no evidence he had the rifle on him in the video - therefore it's locatable or should be.
The video shows a male, I'd guess 5'8-5'11 in height (though police should release an actual confirmed height framework from the video alone and it's landmarks which they can measure against). And that he's either fit or at minimum normal weight.
It shows the male is basically dressed for winter head to toe, including face coverings and hat and puffy clothes. It's understandable if that's how he was dressed he was both normal beforehand (though I'm unclear how he would have walked UP with a rifle unless it was a foldable rifle kept in a backpack he since discarded, or a disassembled rifle kept in a backpack or similar and he re-assembled (very easy to do), or similar).
While I can understand a lot here in terms of lack of immediate information, at this stage I cannot fathom or follow the reporting on this story - both from the police, Brown itself, and the media.
I just read a CNN article where their resident expert said that because another attack hasn't happened yet from the shooter, the public should feel there's no immediate threat. Are you kidding me?
What were possible motives for the target? What was this student gathering and where was it listed? Did the subject need any special permissions to access the building or was it open to the public? At least one victim says he heard the shooter shout something before he started shooting, but isn't sure what. Did any other victims or those nearby hear anything? What was the evidence that led to something be detained and then released without charges? Why did police suspend the investigation because of that detainee, when the evidence wasn't rock solid against him?
And since we have one video released, what do other videos assembled and stitched together tell about the shooter before and after the attack?
Interesting that people find it interesting to compare completely different events with different circumstances at locations thousands and thousands of miles apart to conclude evidence of a conspiracy. That's your algorithm talking through you as if you were Jerry Mahoney
This is more common than you would think. In my state only 51% of murders result in an arrest. (MI State Police '23 data) When there is no personal connection between killer and victim (serial killers) then it's harder yet to find the killer. This situation surprises even a cynical realist , like myself.
One of the two dead was the president of the student Republican Club. Take it with a large grain of salt, but there were claims that she was targeted.
So the original arrest was wrong.... and therefore, a distraction. Masked man. OK. Allegations he said something like "Aloha Snackbar" during the shooting. No reports of skin color- which is odd.
This was not a random shooting. It was targeted. But who- or what- was it targeting?
https://open.substack.com/pub/donsurber/p/police-malpractice-in-shootings?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2czur
"That just restates the question. How was he able just to slip out of the room quickly? Weren't there a lot of people around? How does a masked guy dressed in all black blend into the crowd so easily?"
Most people, when they hear gunfire, run away from it. As for blending in, take off the mask, ditch the coat or wear a reversible one. Or just take off the mask. Most people in a situation like that get tunnel vision. They're not trained soldiers or cops. Ask any investigator, when they interview witnesses they'll get as many versions of events as there are witnesses. Some fairly close, some widely divergent.
Howard, if you are implying my comment on available information somehow connects the various events and suggests a conspiracy, then all I can say is you are misreading my comment.
"Interesting that people find it interesting to compare completely different events with different circumstances at locations thousands and thousands of miles apart to conclude evidence of a conspiracy."
Don't let your lying eyes deceive you. It is racist to notice that Muslims are running down people at Christmas Markets and Shooting up Hannukah celebrations.
Regarding the weapon, I was reading comments on a Steve Sailer post about the shootings, and the consensus there was it could have been a pistol caliber carbine. That would explain the caliber of the shell casings found, the initial reports he had a rifle (assuming accurate identification under stress by people in the area), and how he was able to conceal it.
@Treejoe - From wiki via NeoNeoCon
At the time of the shooting, a review session for an introductory economics class was being held by a teaching assistant for Teaching Professor of Economics Rachel Friedberg.The building was unlocked, since it was the second day of the school’s final examinations for the fall semester.
Also via Neo from Brown's faculty bios
Her research centers on the economic outcomes of immigrants in the United States and Israel, and on immigration’s impact on the labor market of the receiving country. She has testified before the U.S. Congress and participated in Israeli Knesset committee deliberations on immigration policy and reform. A faculty affiliate of the Program in Judaic Studies, she is currently studying the demography and economics of the American Jewish community.
How was someone who was seen by so many people able to leave the scene and escape capture or even identification? Weren't there cameras? Isn't there technology to identify people from photographs?
They have him walking sideways and front to back. He wasn't limping or doing anything to hide his gait.
Unless he was wearing special shoes that is better than a fingerprint.
It’s not unreasonable to conclude that we actually need more guns owned and carried by good people in our communities.
Isn't it interesting that early on, a comment was made about the campus having 800 cameras, evoking previous stories of concern for student privacy, and since the first 2 persons-of-interest have been detained and released, with little official comment, there has been no further mention / discussion / chracterization of the campus network of cameras?
Isn't it interesting that the person-of-interest had a weapon matching the description of the one used in the incident, was an out-of-state visitor in a state with strict handgun permit requirements, and no mention has been made of ballistic testing to compare with bullets recovered from the scene?
My point is that there are too many unresolved questions. Neither the press nor Law Enforcement are doing their job satisfactorily when it comes to keeping their clientele informed. If this is a terror campaign, it's effectively getting a lot of help.
My bad, Leland
From Politico: "...The gunman opened fire inside a classroom in the engineering building, firing more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun, a law enforcement official told AP. Two handguns were recovered when the person of interest was taken into custody and authorities also found two loaded 30-round magazines, the official said. One of the firearms was equipped with a laser sight that projects a dot to aid in targeting, said the official,..."
DEI cops and a DEI university... who knew!
I still think it is too early to comment on what happened at Brown University on Saturday night. However, to be more candid on my thoughts; I have picked up a few things about how such investigations go for these events.
1) It is fairly common knowledge that the first 48 hours of any crime is critical in obtaining the evidence necessary for a conviction.
2) Whenever the evidence isn't sufficient to secure a conviction in the first 48 hours; investigators try to control the release of information in such a way to get a suspect or suspects to act of the specific information released.
3) It is also possible that investigators have few leads and unable to pin down a suspect at all.
4) Most crimes are not random.
With that in mind, I still think the next few hours may tell a different story than what we know now. That's why I rather wait 72 hours. I hope for the sake of the victims in receiving justice that investigators are exploiting the information they have to build a stronger case against a suspect, and Brown officials are assisting investigators in that exploitation.
So, are we back to thinking that the perp might have been a student (or someone from the community)? The guy driving over a thousand miles to turn up at a professor's Saturday review session just because he somehow found out the professor was Jewish didn't make too much sense.
So somebody floated the idea of a white guy from Winsconsin doing the shooting because they wanted distract from the fact that he's a POC?
Why can't they tell us more about the killer than he was in his 20s, male, and a certain height? Isn't his race a rather obvious marker? It reminds me of the J6 bomber. The FBI knew he was black but kept that a secret.
Brown University has 95 public safety officers and over 800 security cameras. Yet someone can shoot people on campus and walk away without being caught.
Wouldn't the building have been closed to the general public? I went to college in the 80s and you couldn't get into classroom building without showing your student card.
We know more about the gun than the guy wielding it. Which leads me to believe he was an alternate white guy.
Presumably, the reason for releasing the photo and including descriptions of height, sex, and age if to help the Public identify the killer and tell the police. So why not include race? Is that some big secret? It seems that would be more important then telling us he's 5-10 or 5-11.
Since they brought a white man in for questioning can we assume the suspect was white? Or was that a distraction and a desire to quelch the "He must be POC since they refuse to identify race".
There was a time, not long ago, when the people who ran Providence would have "solved" the crime and "taken care of" the perp quite quickly. Those people were not the police, but were highly organized*. I'm not sure how things are today.
*I recall there was a highly publicized murder investigation/prosecution in CT the '80's, in which one of the principal figures was a Providence resident known as "Vinnie the Quahog."
Evidently they had enough evidence against this guy yesterday to call off the shelter-in-place order and pat themselves on the back for being able to place him at the scene by tracking his cell phone; but not enough evidence today to detain him or even (it seems) to think he's the right guy. So did they LOSE evidence, or did they never really have good evidence to begin with?
RCOCEAN II said...
Brown University has 95 public safety officers ….
That may not mean anything. The president of the small university where I had been an adjunct professor insisted that campus security officers be unarmed. In the event of an emergency campus security was to call on municipal police for assistance —. It would only take them 15-20 minutes to get there. Brown may have (probably did have) similar policies.
There’s a story circulating online that the attacker shouted “Allahu Akbar” as he opened fire. I don’t know if it’s true, but if so it might, just possibly, be a clue.
Benny:
Ella Cook was just 19 years old—a Conservative, a Christian, and Vice President of the Republican Club at Brown University.
She was brutally killed by a shooter in what appears to be a targeted political attack.
If you still don’t see what’s happening, you haven’t been paying attention.
Just this year alone:
- Tricia McLaughlin threatened with public execution
- Two National Guard troops shot in DC
- The seditious six Democrats claiming President Trump telling the military to not follow orders
- Jay Jones openly fantasizing about murdering Republicans and their children wins election in Virginia
- President Trump experiencing two assassination attempts
- Charlie Kirk assassinated on live TV, the left celebrated
- Attacks on ICE officers have skyrocketed over 1000%
- LA Riots and terror attacks
- Leftist sniper murders three at ICE facility in Texas
- Massive violent riots at ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois and Portland Oregon
- Annunciation Catholic Church children shot while praying by left wing Trump-hating transgender activist
- ABC News stations shot up
- Alina Habba attacked
- Ed Martin Attacked
- Rogue judges releasing career criminals back onto the streets, terrorizing Americans
The left’s violent rhetoric has turned into nationwide violence. If we don’t crush this threat now, we lose everything. It’s only escalating.
Enough is enough."
Leftists will be lying and blaming MAGA - or ignoring this heinous atrocity - because cultist Walz accolades don't give a shit about their corrupted and evil precious fucking evil party. Leftists are cultists.
Fuck leftist cultists. they are a large part of the problem.
Notice their silence. Silence is violence.
Evil fucking leftist Soviet Nazi Neo-Fascist Walz Democratics - want to murder and intimidate.
Buy guns. Learn to use them. Leftists are pure evil.
8 people were shot in Chicago over the weekend, 1 fatally.
(Crickets)
They are mostly blacks, shot by other blacks so who gives a shit?
John Henry
"This was not a random shooting. It was targeted. But who- or what- was it targeting?"
More political assinanation by the Marxists:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2025/12/sophomore-ella-cook-19-identified-as-first-brown-university-victim/
First a West Bend WI man, then a Cedarburg WI man with same name, is identified as being in custody for shooting, then this morning an unidentified man is released from police custody as no longer a suspect. Seems like two young men from WI have had their reputations tarnished by association with this crime. Are Providence cops as bumbling as Chicago cops?
Take a good look at that list. It is a long list and only this year. I’m cutting some slack to all those targeted.
Good point, John Henry
From Aggie's comment, 30 round mags sound like a pistol caliber carbine, not a handgun.
“ From Politico: "...The gunman opened fire inside a classroom in the engineering building, firing more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun, a law enforcement official told AP. Two handguns were recovered when the person of interest was taken into custody and authorities also found two loaded 30-round magazines, the official said. One of the firearms was equipped with a laser sight that projects a dot to aid in targeting, said the official,..."”
Oh! Oh! 30 round magazines? Laser sights?
I wouldn’t use either. With 30 round magazines, the gun is more cumbersome, and more likely to jam. The gun was probably designed for half that many rounds, which means to get 30 rounds, you need twice the spring. Which probably means too much pressure or too little pressure on feeding the bullets. And if the shooting was in a classroom, laser is next to useless. I have a laser/flashlight on my 10 mm bear gun, and the laser is only readily visible in very low light. Red dot, for me is more useful.
“Students in the room were focused on running or hiding, not looking at the man.”
When you are running or hiding you need to notice anyone not running or hiding. That’s where the danger is; that’s what you need to run and hide from.
Biggest tell this was a leftist adjacent shooter? The complete silence and lack of posting from our usual leftist crowd demanding more gun control.
“ From Aggie's comment, 30 round mags sound like a pistol caliber carbine, not a handgun.”
Moved my 33 round 9 mm Glock magazines to my Ruger PCR. Works well there. Magazines that large just unbalanced handguns, designed for using 15 and 17 round standard sized magazines.
Use of 30 round magazines in a handgun just shows that the shooters were not trained to do mag dumps and reloads. Something I practiced in my 2nd and subsequent half day shooting classes. You would just load 2-3 rounds in a magazine, shoot until the slide locked back, empty, dump it, load another one, unlock the slide (using your entire weak hand), and start shooting again.
If you want to see how fast this can be done, watch videos of Kennau Reeves (or Haley Berry) practicing. They aren’t really stunts anymore. In his movies, Thats him.
Bruce Hayden: Halle Berry manipulating guns on YouTube. Thank you for this contribution to my wank bank! CC, JSM
Probably the best clue that someone will not remain a person of interest is if Kash Patel was in any way involved with their being named a person of interest.
Biggest part of the problem is that since the 10/7 attacks and Trump taking office, the Ivies have been trying to facilitate crime, not stop or solve it. Hate crimes by the Pali protesters and immigration crimes by their ever-growing populations of foreign students. Added to the normal workload of keeping drinking, drugging and screwing away from the real police. So having to turn on a dime and suddenly try to stop a crime in progress or solve one that just happened is a pretty heavy lift. CC, JSM
Another suspect- this time- a they/them!
Palestine
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