Brown University Shooting: FBI Releases Wrongly Detained Suspect After Patel’s Premature Victory Lap
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A devastating mass shooting at Brown University that claimed two student lives and wounded nine others has exposed significant lapses in federal law enforcement coordination, as authorities released a wrongly detained person of interest less than 24 hours after FBI Director Kash Patel publicly touted the agency’s success in tracking him down.
Fatal Campus Attack During Final Exams
The tragedy unfolded Saturday afternoon around 4 p.m. in the Barus and Holley engineering and physics building, where students had gathered for an economics exam review session. A masked gunman burst into the lecture hall carrying a rifle and opened fire on approximately 60 students, creating chaos that would grip the Ivy League campus for 12 hours.
Two students were killed in the attack: Ella Cook, a sophomore from Birmingham, Alabama, who served as vice president of Brown’s College Republicans club, and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman from Virginia who had immigrated from Uzbekistan and dreamed of becoming a neurosurgeon. Nine other students were wounded, with eight in stable condition and one remaining critical as of Monday morning.
Joseph Oduro, a 21-year-old teaching assistant leading the review session, described the terror: “The students in the middle were impacted the most. Many of them were lying there and they were not moving.”
The Premature Announcement and Subsequent Reversal
Early Sunday morning, Patel took to social media platform X to announce what appeared to be a major breakthrough. The FBI director detailed how the bureau’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team had utilized “critical geolocation capabilities” to track a 24-year-old man from Wisconsin to a hotel room in Coventry, Rhode Island, approximately 15 miles from Brown’s Providence campus.
The post suggested triumph in modern policing—a swift, technology-driven resolution to violent crime that had shaken the campus community. For several hours, it appeared the FBI’s investigative apparatus had successfully neutralized the threat, with Patel positioning himself at the center of the success story.
However, the narrative collapsed Sunday night. In a somber press conference that stood in stark contrast to Patel’s online enthusiasm, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha confirmed the detained man was no longer a suspect. “It’s fair to say that there is no basis to consider him a person of interest,” Neronha stated, adding that the evidence “now points in a different direction.”
Investigation Returns to Square One
Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez explained that while a tip had led federal investigators to the individual, evidence analysis ultimately cleared him. “We had evidence, but not enough to prosecute anybody,” Perez said.
The reversal left investigators with minimal leads. Attorney General Neronha acknowledged the investigation’s most significant handicap: limited surveillance footage. “There just weren’t a lot of cameras in that Brown building,” he said, referring to the engineering facility where the shooting occurred.
Authorities possess only “a small, short clip of video footage” showing who they believe is their suspect, according to Providence Mayor Brett Smiley. This scarcity of visual evidence has forced investigators to make urgent public appeals for doorbell camera footage and any photographic evidence from the surrounding neighborhood.
Campus Security Gaps Exposed
The shooting revealed vulnerabilities in Brown’s security infrastructure during a critical period. Because final exams and review sessions were underway, exterior doors to campus buildings remained unlocked. “Anybody could have accessed the building at that time,” Mayor Smiley acknowledged.
This accessibility, while necessary for academic operations, created an environment where an armed intruder could enter without challenge—a common security dilemma facing universities nationwide as they balance openness with safety.
Students described enduring hours-long lockdowns as hundreds of officers in armor and helmets swept through the campus. Annelise Mages, a 17-year-old first-year student, spent nearly 12 hours barricaded in the Sciences Library before being evacuated at gunpoint by police officers screaming commands. “We’re all in mourning, and it’s winter, and I’m not sure what the spring at Brown will look like,” she said.
Pattern of Premature Announcements
The Brown incident marks at least the second high-profile case where Patel has publicly announced investigative breakthroughs before evidence supported the conclusions. In September, following the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, Patel announced on X that a suspect was in custody, only to post less than two hours later that the detained individual had been released after interrogation.
Critics have dubbed him “Keystone Kash,” a mocking reference to bumbling silent-film-era police officers, highlighting concerns about coordination between federal leadership and ground-level investigators.
Community Trauma and Institutional Response
The psychological toll on the Brown community has been profound. Students who believed danger had passed following Patel’s announcement now face the reality that the perpetrator remains free. “I imagine that the Providence community feels a little bit more anxious right now than they did an hour ago, and I understand that,” Mayor Smiley said Sunday night.
Brown University canceled all remaining classes, exams, papers and projects for the semester, giving students three grading options and permission to leave campus. The institution has more than doubled its Department of Public Safety staffing, with increased patrols by multiple agencies expected throughout the week.
The University of Rhode Island, located 30 miles south in Kingston, also canceled in-person exams Monday as a precautionary measure, despite no known threats to that campus. School districts across the Providence area increased police presence around educational facilities.
Victims Remembered
Ella Cook was described by Rev. Craig Smalley of the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham as “an incredible, grounded, faithful bright light” who was deeply involved in both her faith community and campus life. Fellow students noted her kindness transcended political divides.
MukhammadAziz Umurzokov’s family described him as “incredibly kind, funny, and smart” with “big dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon and helping people.” His sisters, Rukhsora and Samara Umurzokova, called him “gentle” and “extroverted.” The Uzbekistan Foreign Ministry expressed condolences, and a GoFundMe campaign for his family raised over $230,000.
Investigation Continues With Limited Resources
As the manhunt resumes with renewed urgency, investigators must reassess all evidence with the original person of interest ruled out. CNN law enforcement analyst and former FBI Special Agent Steve Moore explained the challenge: “You pretty much have to throw out, not the evidence, but the conclusions from the evidence and start, basically, as if you’re seeing the evidence for the first time.”
The Attorney General’s Guidelines for FBI Operations emphasize that investigations require thorough evidence compilation and analysis. The premature public announcement by Patel appears to have violated protocols designed to ensure investigative integrity.
Mayor Smiley emphasized that while the person of interest investigation proceeded, “other aspects of the investigation remained at full speed.” However, he acknowledged an “emotional setback” in the community: “I think we all got our hopes up that maybe this was the person.”
National Context on Campus Shootings
The Brown attack joins a disturbing pattern of violence at institutions of higher education. According to research from the Violence Project and Best Colleges, at least 98 people have been killed in 12 mass shootings at U.S. colleges since 1966.
Unlike K-12 schools, no public government database tracks shootings at colleges, making comprehensive prevention strategies challenging. Studies by the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit indicate that attackers often exhibit troubling behaviors beforehand, underscoring the importance of threat assessment teams and vigilant campus communities.
Federal and Local Coordination Under Scrutiny
The disconnect between Patel’s social media declarations and the actual evidence suggests troubling coordination failures at the highest levels of the inquiry. Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee confirmed officials contacted Patel before announcing the release of the person of interest, ensuring he was “fully aware” of the developments.
Attorney General Neronha declined to provide details about what new evidence emerged that changed the investigation’s direction, stating only: “Obviously we have a murderer out there, so we’re not going to give away the game plan.”
The public relations disaster unfolds as families grieve, students cope with trauma, and a community waits for answers. For now, the investigation continues from square one, with authorities appealing for public assistance while maintaining an enhanced law enforcement presence across Providence.
As the nation watches, questions mount about federal leadership competence, campus security protocols, and the balance between swift justice and thorough investigative work. The Brown University community, meanwhile, faces an uncertain future marked by loss, fear, and the realization that danger may still lurk among them.
Reporting contributed by various law enforcement sources, Brown University officials, and victim family members. The investigation remains active and developing.
