Police are searching for a gunman who killed two students and injured 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 lockdown warning is in effect around the prestigious university.
The attack on the campus brings the number of mass shootings in the United States to 389 for this year, according to the independent analysis site Gun Violence Archive.
It defines mass shootings as having four or more victims killed or injured, not including the attacker.
Here’s what we know:
What happened?
The gunman opened fire in a classroom around 4 p.m. local time (9 p.m.) Saturday in the Holley engineering building on the east end of Brown’s campus, according to officials.
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 lecture theaters.
An economics professor told local public media outlet Ocean State Radio that the shooting took place during a review session for his course, led by his teaching assistant.
“He said the shooter came in the door, shouted something – he couldn’t remember what he shouted – and started shooting,” Rachel Friedberg said.
“Students started scrambling to try to get away from the shooter, trying to get lower into the stadium seats, and people were shot,” she added.
Two students who were studying in the nearby Rockefeller Library when the armed man alert was raised told the BBC they “stayed away from the windows” while waiting for the police escort.
The officers searched the floor, made them drop their bags and raise their hands before being led out of the library, both men 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 northeastern part of the country.
The university, which has more than 11,000 students, is located in Providence, the capital of Rhode Island, approximately 50 miles from Boston and 180 miles from New York.
Who are the victims?
Two students were killed and nine others are currently 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 released, but Brown University President Christina Paxson told reporters at a news briefing that all of the victims, including those killed and injured, were students.
“This is a day we hoped we would never see in our community. It is deeply devastating for all of us,” she said in a statement.
A ninth victim was not injured by gunfire, according to police, who said she suffered non-life-threatening injuries from shrapnel from the shooting “which occurred in close proximity to her.”
Who is the shooter?
So far, very little is known about the shooter, but police have released CCTV footage showing a suspect walking away from the scene of the shooting, dressed in black clothing.
No weapons are visible in the video and his face is covered. Authorities also say no firearms were found during a search of the building Saturday.
Investigators do not yet know if the shooter was a student, but Providence Deputy Police Chief Tim O’Hara said the suspect was a man dressed all in black and who appeared to be in his 30s.
“We are using all possible resources to find this suspect,” he said.
Some witnesses reportedly told police that 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 is the latest one?
A massive operation involving police and federal agents is currently underway in Providence as approximately 400 officers attempt to locate the suspect.
Residents and students near the university were asked to stay home and stay indoors, or stay away until the shelter-in-place is lifted.
Students in the area told the BBC they planned to stay home until things calm down and the shooter is arrested.
U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters as he returned to the White House after attending the annual Army-Navy football game, called the shooting “a terrible thing.”
“All we can do now is pray for the victims and for those who were very seriously injured,” he said.
Additional reporting by Pratiksha Ghildial
