Authorities investigating the killings at United States’ premier Ivy League institute, Brown University, have asked the public for any footage that they might have of the gunman, even as they released a new video timeline that carries a slightly clearer image of the possible suspect.
The gunman fatally shot two students and wounded nine others after opening fire at an engineering class taking a test on December 13.
Col. Oscar Perez, the Providence police chief, asked the public on Tuesday to look at their camera systems in the area to see if they have footage that might help officials identify the suspected gunman even as investigators grope in the dark for any clues of the shooter.
“We’re looking for a moment that is shorter than someone taking a breath,” Perez said.
While the police have received about 200 tips, a lack of cameras and clear video of the gunman has continued to frustrate both authorities and the community.
Brown President Christina Paxson confirmed Tuesday that the campus has 1,200 cameras, but law enforcement says there is no clear video of the shooter from inside the engineering building.
Also Read: Two killed, 11 injured in US Brown University shooting
Paxson said the university has two security systems, one of which was activated at the time of emergency to send out text messages, phone calls and emails that reached 20,000 people.
The other system features three sirens across the campus and was not activated Saturday, a decision Paxson defended because doing so would have caused people to rush into buildings, including the one where the shooting was happening.
“So that is not a system we would ever use in the case of an active shooter,” she said.
In all the videos made public so far, the suspect’s face was masked or turned away, and authorities have only been able to give a vague description of him as being stocky and about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 centimetres) tall.
Surveillance video the FBI posted online before it was removed showed a person in dark clothing walking along multiple sidewalks for about an hour starting shortly after 2 pm on Saturday.
Two clips taken minutes after the shooting show the person walking away from a parking lot and then along a street.
Meanwhile, Rhode Island Attorney General, Peter Neronha, defended the investigation as going “really well” as he pleaded for public patience in locating the suspected killer.
When pressed about a connection to ethnicity, political motive or culture, Neronha said “that is a dangerous road to go down.”
The atmosphere on the prestigious university’s campus remained somber, as students held a church service on Tuesday for the victims.
Providence, too, was in a tense mood as additional police were sent to city schools to reassure worried parents that their kids would be safe. Ten state troopers were assigned to support police sent to beef up security at schools, district Superintendent Javier Montañez said.
Details are starting to emerge about the victims, who were in the first-floor classroom in the school’s engineering building studying for a final. Of the seven people who remained hospitalised, Mayor Brett Smiley said one remained in critical condition, five were in critical but stable condition, and one was in stable condition.
One of the wounded students, 18-year-old freshman Spencer Yang of New York City, told local dailies that there was a mad scramble after the gunman entered the room. Yang said he wound up on the ground between some seats and was shot in the leg.
Jacob Spears, 18, a freshman from Evans, Georgia, was shot in the stomach, “but through sheer adrenaline and courage, he managed to run outside, where he was aided by others,” according to a GoFundMe site organised for him.
Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore who was one of the two students killed, was vice president of the Brown College Republicans and was beloved in her church in Birmingham, Alabama.
The other student killed was MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman from Brandermill, Virginia, who was majoring in biochemistry and neuroscience. His family immigrated to the US from Uzbekistan when he was a kid.
Follow us
