As it happened: Police place person of interest in custody after Brown University shooting

Durham Academy, a private school in Durham, North Carolina, said in a statement that Kendall Turner is in critical but stable condition, and that her parents were with her.

“Our school community is rallying around Kendall, her classmates, and her loved ones, and we will continue to offer our full support in the days ahead,” the school said.

One of the firearms recovered from the person of interest was equipped with a laser sight, a law enforcement official said.

The official was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. The green laser projects a visible dot onto whatever the gun is aimed at, a feature commonly used to aid targeting.

The gunman opened fire inside a classroom in the engineering building, firing more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

Two handguns were recovered when the person of interest was taken into custody and authorities also found two loaded 30-round magazines, the official said.

The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.

A group that works to end gun violence has issued a statement in support of the victims of the shooting at Brown University.

The statement was released Saturday by Sandy Hook Promise.

“Thirteen years ago today, 26 precious lives were stolen at Sandy Hook Elementary. It was an attack that could have been prevented if the warning signs had been taken seriously.

“The fact that these college students were elementary school students in 2012 underscores the sobering truth: an entire generation of youth in America has grown up with threats of being shot in a classroom.”

Mayor Brett Smiley invited the public to come together in a city park Sunday evening, where an event previously had been scheduled to light a Christmas tree and Hanukkah menorah.

“For those who know at least bit of the Hanukkah story, it is quite clear that if we can come together as a community to shine a little bit of light tonight, there’s nothing better that we can be doing.”

College President Christina Paxson teared up while describing conversations with students on campus and in the hospital.

“They are amazing and they’re supporting each other,” she said. “There’s just a lot of gratitude.”

Mayor Brett Smiley said one of the victims told him that the active shooter drills they did in high school proved helpful.

“We shouldn’t have to do active shooter drills, but it helped,” he said.

The “person of interest” who has been detained in connection with the shooting at Brown University on Saturday is in their 20s.

That is according to Col. Oscar Perez, the chief of Providence police.

Earlier, investigators had said the person detained was in their 30s.

Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez did not give any details about the progress of the investigation except to say it was progressing “extremely fast.”

No other information about the progress of the investigation was released.

Meanwhile, Providence’s mayor said he visited victims in the hospital.

“The resilience that these survivors showed and shared with me was frankly overwhelming,” Mayor Brett Smiley said at a noon press conference Sunday.

The event is scheduled five hours after the previous one.

The last news conference took place around 7 a.m. ET. Authorities announced then that a person of interest had been detained earlier this morning.

“The people of Providence should breathe a little easier this morning,” Mayor Brett Smiley said. “We all, intellectually, knew it could happen anywhere, including here, but that’s not the same as it happening in our community.”

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, one of the leading Democratic voices on gun policy, said Sunday that the prospects of new restrictions on firearms were “slim.”

“As we know right now, unfortunately, the Republicans in Congress don’t ever meaningfully break from this president,” Murphy said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” arguing that Trump and the GOP were too aligned with the gun lobby.

Murphy added: “That doesn’t mean I won’t try.”

Armed with a handgun, the shooter fired more than 40 9 mm rounds, according to a law enforcement official.

Authorities as of Sunday morning hadn’t recovered a gun but did recover two loaded 30-round magazines, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.

University officials also said on Sunday that students are free to leave.

Those who remain on campus will have access to services and support, Provost Francis Doyle said in a statement.

“At this time, it is essential that we focus our efforts on providing care and support to the members of our community as we grapple with the sorrow, fear and anxiety that is impacting all of us right now,” Doyle wrote.

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Law enforcement officials gather near a police vehicle in a parking lot at a hotel in Coventry, R.I., Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, where a person of interest was detained in connection with the Saturday Brown University shooting. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

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That’s according to an FBI agent, who said that the arrest occurred at a Hampton Inn in Coventry, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Providence.

Officers remained on the scene there, with police tape blocking off a hallway.