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24-year-old from Wisconsin reportedly detained after Brown University shooting
Benjamin Erickson, 24, was taken into custody at a hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island, according to multiple reports.
The person of interest detained was released, officials said at a press conference late Sunday evening.
The person of interest detained in connection to the deadly mass shooting at Brown University Saturday has been identified as a 24-year-old from Wisconsin, according to multiple media reports.
Benjamin Erickson, an Army veteran, was taken into custody at a hotel early Sunday morning, The Washington Post reported. Two students were fatally shot and nine were wounded Saturday afternoon during a final exam at Brown in Providence, Rhode Island.
University President Christina Paxson said she was told that 10 students at the university were shot. Another person was injured by fragments from the shooting, authorities said.
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Police searched overnight for the suspected gunman, who fled after opening fire inside a university engineering building. The person of interest has not been charged in connection to the shooting, but officials are not actively seeking anyone elseProvidence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez said.
The gunman fired more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun in a classroom in the Barus & Holley building, which houses the School of Engineering and physics department, The Associated Press reported. Police released surveillance footage showing a person of interest dressed in black, calmly walking away from the scene.
Kash Patel, director of the FBI, said on X that the person of interest was detained in a hotel room in Coventry, Rhode Island “based off a lead” by the Providence police. A gun fitting the description of the one used in the attack was recovered at the hotel, as well as an additional firearm, ABC News reported.
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“Everybody’s reeling, and we have a lot of recovery ahead of us,” Paxson said at the news conference. “Our community’s strong and we’ll get through it, but it’s devastating.”
ABCNews connected a house outside Milwaukee in Cedarburg, Wisconsin to the person of interest, where a large law enforcement presence gathered Sunday.
The victims have not been publicly identified, pending family notifications, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said during the press conference Sunday.
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