POLITICS
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US authorities to release Brown University shooting suspect as manhunt for killer continues
Officials confirmed they would continue to pursue the suspect but provided few details on the investigation’s progress.
US authorities to release Brown University shooting suspect as manhunt for killer continues
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley confirmed the detained person of interest would be released. / Reuters
2 hours ago

A person detained over the shooting that killed two students at Brown University was to be released, US officials said on Sunday, adding the manhunt had resumed for a suspect.

A shooter opened fire on Saturday at the elite Ivy League university in Providence, Rhode Island, in a building where exams were taking place, triggering a campus lockdown and launching an hours-long hunt for the suspect.

US authorities early on Sunday detained a person of interest in the mass shooting that also wounded nine others, the latest in a long line of school attacks in the United States.

Brown University President Christina Paxson confirmed in a letter to community members that all 11 victims were students.

"Shortly, we will be releasing the person of interest who had been detained earlier today," Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said on Sunday.

"I think it's fair to say there's no basis to consider him a person of interest," Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha told reporters.

"That's why he's being released."

RelatedTRT World - Person of interest detained after deadly shooting at Brown University

Murderer still at large

Officials said they'd continue to pursue a suspect but provided few details on how the investigation has progressed.

"Obviously, we have a murderer out there, frankly, and so we're not going to give away the game plan," Neronha said.

Police released 10 seconds of footage of the suspect, seen from behind, walking briskly down a deserted street after opening fire inside a first-floor classroom.

The shooting occurred shortly after 2100 GMT on Saturday, prompting an immediate response by Brown University police, followed by Providence police, firefighters, and emergency medical teams.

Multiple agencies are involved in the response, including state police, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Officials said federal and local agencies are coordinating closely as the investigation remains active.

RelatedTRT World - Two killed, eight critically injured in shooting at Brown University in US
SOURCE:TRT World and Agencies