A “person of interest” has been detained after a gunman opened fire on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, killing two students.

Nine people, all or nearly all of whom are also believed to be students, were injured in the attack at around 4pm (9pm UK time) on Saturday.

Eight people have been described as stable, although one remains critically ill. Another person has left hospital.

A video released by officials shows a suspect walking down a street away from the campus and turning a corner, dressed in dark, loose-fitting clothing.

An FBI agent confirmed the arrest took place at a Hampton Inn hotel in Coventry, about 20 miles (32km) from Providence early on Sunday.

Authorities said the suspect was in their 20s, younger than was initially reported, but no further details have been released about them.

Providence Police Deputy Chief Tim O’Hara said the shooting happened inside a classroom on the first floor of the Barus & Holley engineering building, a seven-storey structure home to much of the university’s engineering and physics study and research.

Brown University provost Frank Doyle confirmed that final exams were taking place in the engineering building Saturday afternoon when the gunman opened fire.

A police official told the AP news agency that the gunman fired more than 40 9mm rounds. A gun has not been recovered but officers did seize two loaded 30-round magazines.

On Sunday, Providence mayor Brett Smiley told reporters the order to shelter-in-place for nearby neighbourhoods had been lifted, but some streets remained shut as investigators work at the scene.

“The people of Providence should breathe a little easier this morning,” Mr Smiley added.

Access to parts of the campus remained restricted on Sunday as police maintained a security perimeter around Minden Hall and nearby apartment buildings.

The site has hundreds of buildings, including lecture halls, laboratories and dorms.

Brown is a private university with roughly 7,300 undergraduate students and more than 3,000 graduate students.

Students hid under desks

Student Chiang-Heng Chien said he was working in one of the labs with three other students when they received a notification about a shooting nearby.

“We decided to turn the light off and close all the doors and hide under our desks, and wait for the next notification after the shooting,” he told reporters.

The students hid under the desks for about two hours.

“I was hoping that no one’s getting hurt and no one’s dead,” he said.

The students left the building when they received another notification, and security personnel moved in to search the facility.

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Emma Ferraro, a chemical engineering student, was in the Barus & Holley lobby working on a final project when she heard loud popping sounds coming from the eastern side of the building.

For a moment, everyone paused and looked around, she recalled.

Once Ferraro realised the sounds were gunshots, she rushed to the door and ran to a nearby building, where she had been sheltering for the past few hours.

One person who was initially thought to be involved in the shooting was detained but was later determined to have no involvement.

President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that he had been briefed on the situation, which he called “terrible”.

“All we can do right now is pray for the victims and for those that were very badly hurt,” he added.

“Most of us live off hope” – the text of a colourful mural, painted on a wall on Hope Street, Providence.

On most days, the neighbourhood around Brown University feels like a place of quiet optimism, swimming against the negative tide.

The shock of a shooting, that has claimed two lives and left eight others critically wounded, will cut deeply here.

Violence feels not just intrusive but incompatible with the spirit of a place that is governed by thought, not threat.

When the university president said “this is a day we hoped would never come”, she spoke for the whole town.

Providence, Rhode Island, is a place I know well. My daughter, her husband and their two little girls live there.

It is a college town with a college vibe, the compact campus priding itself on openness – architecturally, intellectually and emotionally.

They rehearse “shelter-in-place” scenarios, as every university does, but they are not experienced at living behind locked doors.

Rhode Island, the smallest state, has one of the lowest gun-death rates in America, zero mass shooting events in 2024.

Earlier this year, the state banned the sale and manufacture of assault weapons, but it didn’t include those already owned.

Even in a Democratic, liberal state like Rhode Island, they are struggling to find a solution to America’s gun problem.

The age-old constitutional right to bear arms continues to trump the most human of all rights – the right to life.

This is a community that assumes safety, not because it is naïve, but because it has grown accustomed to trust.

College Hill rises in gentle brick and ivy, its narrow streets winding past houses with verandas designed for long conversations.

They take place in hushed tones right now, but if anywhere can find its way out of despair, Providence can.

On the historic street along its east side and in the college on the corner, most people live off hope.

At least two people have been killed and eight others critically injured in a shooting on the campus of Brown University in Rhode Island, officials have said.

The incident is believed to be unfolding near an engineering building on the campus, according to the school’s alert system.

Providence Police and the Rhode Island State Police are responding.

It is unclear at the moment whether arrests have been made.

Brown University says no suspects are in custody and that additional shots may have been fired.

US President Donald Trump corrected an earlier post he shared online, clarifying that a suspect was not in custody. In his previous post, he had stated that a suspect was in custody.

University officials initially told students and staff that a suspect was in custody, but later said this was not the case and police were still searching for a suspect or suspects.

Officials noted that the information remained preliminary as investigators try to determine what has occurred.

Police are actively investigating and still gathering information from the scene, said Kristy DosReis, the chief public information officer for the city of Providence.

The shooting was reported near the Barus & Holley building, a seven-storey structure that houses the School of Engineering and Physics Department, according to the school’s website.

It includes 117 laboratories, 150 offices and 15 classrooms.

Brown is a private university with roughly 7,300 undergraduate students and more than 3,000 graduate students.

Providence Council member John Goncalves, whose ward includes the Brown campus, said: “We’re still getting information about what’s going on, but we’re just telling people to lock their doors and to stay vigilant.

“As a Brown alum, someone who loves the Brown community and represents this area, I’m heartbroken. My heart goes out to all the family members and the folks who’ve been impacted.”

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