Gunman Kills Two Students During Brown University Final Exams

Campus Terror During Finals Week

A gunman killed two people and injured nine others when he opened fire at Brown University's engineering and physics building in Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday during the second day of final examination week for the fall semester. The shooting occurred at around 4 p.m. ET at the Barus & Holley engineering and physics building in an economics class as students were taking their final exams.

One of the victims killed in Saturday's shooting at Brown University has been identified as Ella Cook, a Brown student and a parishioner at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama. Durham Academy, a private K-12 school in Durham, North Carolina, confirmed that a recent graduate, Kendall Turner, was critically wounded, with her parents by her side as their school community rallies around her family.

Armed with a handgun, the shooter fired more than 40 9mm rounds before fleeing on foot, according to a law enforcement official who said authorities recovered two loaded 30-round magazines but hadn't found the gun as of Sunday morning. The shooting occurred inside a final exam review for a principles of economics class.

Manhunt and Investigation Unfolds

The person of interest detained in connection with yesterday's deadly shooting at Brown University has been identified as 24-year-old Benjamin Erickson of Wisconsin, multiple law enforcement sources revealed. Three senior law enforcement officials identified Erickson, who lived in an apartment in Washington, D.C. at the time of the shooting and served as an infantryman in the U.S. Army from May 2021 to November 2024.

However, officials in Providence said Sunday evening that police are releasing the man in his 20s who was briefly held as a person of interest, leaving authorities without any known suspect as Attorney General Peter Neronha stated "We have a murderer out there." A revolver and a small Glock handgun with a laser sight attached were found in the hotel room of the suspect.

Investigators were not immediately sure how the shooter got inside the first-floor classroom, though outer doors of the building were unlocked while rooms being used for final exams required badge access, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said. Brown University Provost Francis Doyle noted that cards are swiped to access the building but that there was "probably a lot of traffic" during exams.

Campus Community Shaken

Nine people with gunshot wounds were taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where one was in critical condition while six required intensive care but were not getting worse and two were stable, hospital spokesperson Kelly Brennan said. Brown University President Christina Paxson confirmed all of the shooting victims are students, though investigators said not all families have been notified, so names have not been released.

Emma Ferraro, a chemical engineering student, was in the building's lobby working on a final project when she heard loud pops coming from the east side, and once she realized they were gunshots, she darted for the door and ran to a nearby building where she sheltered for several hours. Student journalist Ethan Schenker described being in the library during the lockdown, surrounded by hundreds of students preparing for final exams before they were relocated, saying the experience brought back memories of active shooter drills from middle and high school.

Brown University Provost Francis J. Doyle III announced that all remaining undergraduate, graduate and medical classes, exams, and papers or projects for the Fall 2025 semester will not take place as scheduled given the deeply tragic events. Students are free to leave campus at this time, and those who choose to remain will have access to on-campus services and support.

National Pattern of Campus Violence

The Sandy Hook Promise organization noted in a statement that the Brown University community has been shaken by this same kind of nightmare as students were shot and killed in their classroom, underscoring the sobering truth that an entire generation of youth in America has grown up with threats of being shot in a classroom. According to the Gun Violence Archive's school shooting tracker, there have been 43 shootings on college and university campuses in 2025 that resulted in a casualty.

Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island captured the national sentiment, telling reporters "Once again, people have to scratch their heads and say, What kind of country is this? You're taking an exam and someone bursts in and starts shooting. That's not the way it should be. We'd like to think our campuses are one of the places that are removed from this type of violence."

The tragedy strikes at the heart of what should be a sanctuary for learning and growth. As families