The search for the shooter who opened fire in a classroom at Brown University reached its fifth day Wednesday as Rhode Island authorities released new images and a map related to the investigation in a renewed call to the community for help in the search.
Providence police released a series of new images Wednesday of an individual they believe was “in proximity” to a masked man authorities have said is a person of interest in the case, a spokesperson for the police department said.
“I want to be clear that this is a person that we would like to speak with,” Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez said at a news conference Wednesday. “I truly believe, based on the video footage that we have been watching for a few days, that they may have relevant information to the investigation.”
Perez urged the public and the individual in the surveillance photos to contact the police department with identifying information. Police also released a map with parameters detailing what they say were the person of interest’s movements before and after the attack took place, based on aggregated security camera footage from nearby homes and businesses. Areas where officials are seeking more camera footage are also marked on the map.
Local law enforcement could be seen canvassing door to door requesting available camera footage from businesses and residences near Brown University, which Perez said Wednesday is an “intense” part of the investigation. The police chief added that officers are searching through troves of video footage for a moment that could be “less than a second.” Missing it could mean the difference in solving the case, he said.
The person in the newly released photos is dressed in a dark-blue jacket and black pants, with a bag strewn over one shoulder, walking across a yard.
Local law enforcement told MS NOW on Wednesday that they are in the process of vetting more than 200 actionable tips that have been called into the police command center. Authorities had not located a weapon or identified a motive for the shooter as of Wednesday and said no other items of interest have been found thus far.
The shooting, which killed two people and injured nine others, took place Saturday inside a first-floor classroom in Brown’s Barus & Holley, an engineering and physics building, authorities said. They said police were alerted to the gunshots at 4:05 p.m. on Saturday.
All the victims of the shooting were students at the university, according to Brown University President Christina Paxson. Ella Cook, 19, of Mountain Brook, Alabama, and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, 18, of Midlothian, Virginia, were killed. Nine others were injured.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said at the news conference that two additional students had been discharged from the hospital. He said five of the others were in stable condition and one remained in critical but stable condition. Though the identities of the injured have not been released by the university, citing privacy concerns, the Brown Men’s Volleyball team paid tribute to Spencer Yang, a Freshman setter on the team who they said was shot in the leg Saturday. “Even after being shot, Spencer selflessly provided aid to a severely wounded classmate until first responders arrived,” the team wrote in a post on Instagram. “That is the kind of person he is.” Yang has since been released from the hospital after “several days of care” and “is now safely recovering at home with his family,” the team said. Police established a centralized website for “all digital media” related to the investigation after the release of the new pictures Wednesday.
Sydney Carruth is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. Recommended
