skip to content

Brown University Shooting: FBI offers $50,000 reward as manhunt for shooter continues on fourth day

Three videos released by the FBI showed the man they believe carried out Saturday's attack wearing a mask and a dark two-tone jacket.

express web desk

By: Express Web Desk

December 16, 2025 08:11 PM IST First published on: Dec 16, 2025 at 08:05 PM IST
Brown University Shooting: FBI offers $50,000 reward as manhunt for gunman continues on fourth dayA makeshift memorial is seen on the campus of Brown University, close to from the scene of the shooting, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is continuing its pursuit of the elusive gunman who opened fire at students inside the Brown University campus in Rhode Island on Saturday.

The FBI is pursuing a new lead based on photos and videos of a person taken around 2 pm on Saturday, hours before the attack.

Three videos released by the FBI showed the man they believe carried out Saturday’s attack wearing a mask and a dark two-tone jacket. Although his face wasn’t visible, the footage from about two hours before the shooting provided the clearest images yet of the suspect.

FBI announces $50,000 reward

The FBI said the man is about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 centimeters) tall, with a stocky build. The agency offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person responsible.

“We’re asking for the public’s assistance,” Providence’s police chief, Colonel Oscar Perez, said at a news conference, urging people who might recognize the suspect to call a tip line.

Brown University Shooting: FBI offers $50,000 reward as manhunt for gunman continues on fourth day
A member of the FBI Evidence Response Team searches for evidence near an ivy-covered wall following the shooting at Brown University, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Brown University shooting

It has been more than 72 hours since a gunman opened fire inside Brown University, killing two students, identified as Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov. Nine people were wounded in the attack on Saturday.

Story continues below this ad

Only one of the wounded had been released as of Sunday, Brown President Christina Paxson said. One was in critical condition and the other seven were in critical but stable condition.

Race against time to find evidence

As the investigation enters its fourth day, experts believe that most evidence, like fingerprints, is now gone due to the ongoing snowfall in the area area.

Brown University Shooting: FBI offers $50,000 reward as manhunt for gunman continues on fourth day
Members of the FBI Evidence Response Team search for evidence near the campus of Brown University, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Authorities, however, are knocking on doors in search of video and sifting through snow and dumpsters for other evidence that might lead them to the gunman.

The gunman fled after opening fire on Saturday in a classroom in Brown’s Barus & Holley engineering and physics building, where outer doors had been left unlocked while exams were taking place, according to police.

Story continues below this ad
Brown University Shooting: FBI offers $50,000 reward as manhunt for gunman continues on fourth day
FBI agents knock on residents’ doors on Cooke St. in Providence, Ri.I., two days after a shooting occurred on Brown University’s campus, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (Lily Speredelozzi/The Sun Chronicle via AP)

Students spent hours barricaded in classrooms or hiding beneath furniture as officers fanned out across campus searching for the attacker.

‘Person of interest’ released

Officials said late on Sunday that there was enough evidence to justify taking into custody the unnamed person of interest, a man in his 20s. The announcement of the detainment early on Sunday provided what turned out to be a short-lived measure of relief for students and city residents.

Neronha said hours later that investigators had determined there was “no basis to believe that he’s a person of interest, so … he’s being released.”

On Monday, the attorney general said the individual “has been cleared,” adding, “The investigation has now gone in a different direction.

Story continues below this ad

Brown is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the United States. The Ivy League school, which has nearly 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students, cancelled exams and classes for the rest of the year.

Today’s ePaper

today epaper widget
Loading Taboola...
Latest Comment
Post Comment
Read Comments
Edition
Install the Express App for
a better experience
Featured
Trending Topics
News
Multimedia
Follow Us