PROVIDENCE, R.I. (VINnews)— Authorities detained a person of interest early Sunday in connection with a shooting at Brown University that left two people dead and nine others injured, law enforcement officials said.
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The individual, identified as Benjamin Erickson, a 24-year-old man from Wisconsin, was taken into custody at a hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island, about 15 miles southwest of the campus, according to multiple sources briefed on the investigation.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team used cellphone geolocation data to help locate Erickson.
“As a result, early this morning, FBI Boston’s Safe Streets Task Force, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service and the Coventry Police Department, detained a person of interest in a hotel room in Coventry, Rhode Island, based on a lead from the Providence Police Department,” Patel said in a statement.
Sources told The Washington Post and other outlets that Erickson is originally from Wisconsin. Additional details about his background, including reported prior military service, and any potential connection to the university are under investigation.
The shooting occurred Saturday afternoon in the Barus and Holley building, which houses the School of Engineering and physics department, during final exams period.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and university officials confirmed the casualties, noting that all victims were students.
The campus was placed on lockdown for hours as police searched for the gunman, described initially as a male dressed in black.
No charges have been announced as the investigation continues.
Another WHITE MALE. When will Pam Bondi declare them a terrorist organizaion like she did the spooky antifa?
Another mass shooting, part of the epidemic of GUN VIOLENCE against innocents in an America filled w guns and Hate. Many thanks to the NRA. feh