A police manhunt continues for a shooter, who has killed at least two people and wounded nine others at Brown University on Saturday.
A hospital spokesperson confirmed that one of the wounded victims was in critical condition, and six required intensive care.
The University’s President said that ten of the people shot were students, and it was unclear if one of those injured was a student or not, as they presented themselves at hospital later.
Law enforcement says the shooter was dressed all in black when they began firing during final exams on the Ivy League campus in Providence, Rhode Island.
Security footage showed the suspect walking away from the campus’s engineering building, but his face was not visible. Some witnesses reported that the man, who could be in his 30s, may have been wearing a camouflage mask, said the deputy police chief.
Investigators were not yet sure how the shooter got inside the first-floor classroom where he opened fire. Outer doors of the building were unlocked, but rooms being used for final exams required badge access.
Officers were hunting through campus buildings and sifting through trash cans more than three hours after the shooting erupted.
Providence Police have released a video of a person of interest in the shooting
Authorities believe the shooter used a handgun, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorised to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity to the Associated Press.
“The unthinkable has happened,” said Rhode Island Governer Dan McKee, who vowed that all resources were being deployed to catch the suspect.
Providence City Mayor Brett Smiley said the news of the shooting is “heartbreaking”.
“We have two priorities right now as a community. One, to bring the individual responsible to justice. And two, to pray for the full recovery of those affected.
“The Brown community’s heart is breaking, and Providence’s heart is breaking along with it. We are a week and a half away from Christmas, and all of us are getting calls from concerned families, parents, employees, relatives.”
Smiley said a shelter-in-place remained in effect and encouraged people living near the campus to stay inside or not return home until it is lifted. Streets that normally bustle with activity on weekends were eerily quiet.
University officials had initially told students and staff that a suspect was in custody, but later said that was not the case.
The mayor said a person believed to be involved was detained, but later determined to have no involvement.
Nearly five hours after the shooting, officers in tactical gear led students out of some campus buildings and into a fitness centre.
The shooting occurred in the Barus & Holley building, a seven-story complex that houses the School of Engineering and physics department. According to the university’s website, the building includes more than 100 laboratories, dozens of classrooms and offices.
Engineering design exams were underway there when the shooting occurred.
President Donald Trump told reporters that he had been briefed on the situation and called for people to pray for the victims.
“What a terrible thing it is. And all we can do right now is pray for the victims. And for those that were very badly hurt, it looks like.
“We’ll inform you later as to what’s happening. But it’s a shame. It’s a shame. Just pray. Thank you very much.”
Brown, the seventh-oldest higher education institution in the US, is one of the nation’s most prestigious colleges, with roughly 7,300 undergraduates and more than 3,000 graduate students.
Tuition, housing and other fees run to nearly $100,000 per year, according to the university.
Rhode Island has some of the strictest gun laws in the US. Last spring the Democratic-controlled Legislature passed an assault weapon ban that will prohibit the sale and manufacturing of certain high-powered firearms, but not their possession, starting next July.
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