Emergency Information
Sunday, December 14, 4:06 p.m.
Dear Brown Faculty and Staff,
As President Paxson has conveyed, this is a profoundly difficult and painful time for the entire Brown community. Our thoughts are with everyone affected. We strongly encourage all faculty and staff to prioritize their health and well-being. All managers are expected to be flexible and supportive of their team's health and well-being to the greatest extent possible. Please prioritize compassion, open communication and the immediate needs of your team members. Please remember that resources, including Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services, are available and were detailed in our earlier communications.
In the coming week, we are implementing temporary work guidance to give the Department of Public Safety, local law enforcement and Brown staff providing support services to the Brown community the ability to focus their resources on ongoing essential activities while serving fewer individuals on campus.
From December 15 through December 22, 2025:
- Brown remains open.
- Staff whose positions have been designated as essential because their responsibilities include services that must be performed on site will report to work. In addition, employees whose positions are not technically designated as “essential” but who are critical to time-sensitive research functions should consult with their manager/PI to determine how best to perform this necessary work while prioritizing safety and well-being.
- Non-essential staff who can do so may work remotely, unless directed to do otherwise by their managers. Subject to the above guidance regarding essential staff and essential functions, managers are encouraged to provide staff with the flexibility to adjust their schedules as needed to prioritize their well-being.
- At the same time, units will need to ensure sufficient coverage to support students in residence and daily operations, including the full range of student services and support.
Key university services remain in operation at this time. These include:
Dining
The Sharpe Refectory, the Blue Room and Josiah’s will operate on a normal schedule. All other units will remain closed. Please check the dining website for actual hours and days of operation.
Transportation Services and Shuttle Service
There will be no changes to transportation and shuttle services, with everything running on a normal schedule. For information concerning the operation of the Brown University Shuttle (BUS), please check the Transportation website or call 401-863-3157.
Parking
Some parking lots will be unavailable this week. Impacted parties should use the upper level of the Power Street (Lot 68). Brown’s parking lots will not be ticketed up to the Winter Break.
University Libraries
The Rockefeller Library will have limited hours and other library facilities will be closed. Please check the library website for updated details.
Brown Public Safety and Emergency Medical Services
Brown Public Safety and Emergency Medical Services are on patrol and available 24 hours a day. Report any emergencies at 401-863-4111.
Other University Services
For information about other University services, please refer to department websites.
We will continue to update the community with additional information as necessary. If you have not already done so, make certain your emergency contact information (personal cell phone and home or off-campus housing phone numbers) is up to date so that we can contact you as quickly as possible in the event of an emergency.
Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, loved ones, and the entire Brown University community during this deeply painful time. We are grateful to all first responders and law enforcement personnel for their immediate response and their ongoing work to ensure the safety of our community. We are especially thankful to our faculty and staff for your dedication, selflessness, and commitment to the well-being of our students, families, and campus community. Your care is truly inspiring.
Sincerely,
Marie Williams
Vice President for Human Resources
Sunday, December 14, 3:32 p.m.
Email from Brown Vice President for Campus Life Patricia Poitevien to students: Support for Students Who Lost Personal Belongings at Barus & Holley or Minden Hall.
Sunday, December 14, 3:08 p.m.
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,
I'm writing with additional information regarding classes, exams and other academic activities for the remainder of the Fall 2025 semester. As we continue to prioritize the safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff in the wake of yesterday's tragic events, we must balance the importance of providing clear guidance on educational assessment with our responsibility to ensure the thriving of every member of our community.
After extensive discussion with academic and faculty leadership from across campus, we have decided to cancel all remaining in-person exams for Fall 2025 courses at all schools, with the exception of the Warren Alpert Medical School and the IE Brown Executive MBA program in the School of Professional Studies (SPS). Leadership at the Medical School and SPS will follow up shortly with those student populations to provide specific guidance. Other final assessments may have due date extensions (see details below).
Students in courses with work still outstanding have three options:
- Students may elect to conclude the course and accept a final grade based on their work submitted prior to December 13, with no penalty for work originally due after December 13 that is not submitted.
- Students may elect to retroactively change their grade option for the course to satisfactory/no credit (S/NC). Students who elect this option will receive a notation on their transcripts indicating that the change was made due to extenuating circumstances. The University is currently working with the Office of Information Technology to develop a mechanism to make this change. We will follow up with additional information within the next week.
- In courses (residential, professional or online) with a previously assigned final paper, project or take-home exam, students may elect to complete and submit the work for a grade, whether that be for the originally selected grade option or the revised S/NC option.
Students must communicate their decisions about each of their courses by January 7, 2026. For each course in which students do not communicate their selections by this date, the student will receive a final grade in accordance with the grade option they selected earlier in the semester and based on work submitted prior to December 13.
For those who elect to submit previously assigned work, that work must be submitted to instructors by January 7, 2026.
All grades must be submitted by January 14, 2026. We will work with department chairs and deans to ensure that faculty have sufficient support to complete their grading by this deadline. Unless all final work is already submitted, faculty should refrain from entering final grades until the deadline for students to select their desired options (January 7).
Due to these extended deadlines, the Committee on Academic Standing (CAS)'s review for undergraduates will be delayed for the Spring 2026 semester. Students with questions about CAS review may contact [email protected].
We will send follow-up communications regarding Winter Session in the coming days.
For questions:
- undergraduate students should contact [email protected],
- doctoral and MFA students should contact [email protected],
- master's students should contact [email protected], and
- faculty should contact [email protected].
I am grateful for all that the members of our community have done and continue to do to support one another in the face of this tragedy.
Sincerely,
Francis J. Doyle III
Provost
Sunday, December 14, 1:03 p.m.
Email from Brown Vice President for Human Resources Marie Williams to faculty and staff: EAP Mental Health & Crisis Support for Faculty & Staff.
Sunday, December 14, 12:03 p.m.
Email from Brown Vice President for Campus Life Patricia Poitevien to students: Support and Resources for Our Community.
Sunday, December 14, 9:52 a.m.
Email from Brown President Christina H. Paxson to alumni and friends: Tragic time for our Brown Community.
Sunday, December 14, 8:47 a.m.
Email from Brown President Christina H. Paxson to parents and families: Campus operations after yesterday’s tragedy.
Sunday, December 14, 8:39 a.m.
Sharpe Refectory is now open to all students in need of food.
Sunday, December 14, 8:24 a.m.
Dear Members of the Brown Community,
I'm writing to follow up on President Paxson's update from a short time ago to provide additional information on academic operations for the campus. Given the deeply tragic events that took place on our campus yesterday, all remaining undergraduate, graduate and medical classes, exams, and papers or projects for the Fall 2025 semester will not take place as scheduled. This choice was made out of our profound concern for all students, faculty and staff on our campus. In the immediate aftermath of these devastating events, we recognize that learning and assessment are significantly hindered in the short term and that many students and others will wish to depart campus. Students are free to leave if they are able. Students who remain will have access to on-campus services and support.
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. University leaders are committed to providing care and mobilizing resources to assist our community members through this difficult time.
We know there will be many academic concerns about the implications of not holding classes and exams as scheduled. We will follow up with more information in the coming days. For the moment, we encourage everyone to focus on their own safety and well-being. We will continue to share updates with emergency information on Brown.edu, and to work directly with students and other community members to provide services and support.
Sincerely,
Francis J. Doyle III
Provost
Sunday, December 14, 8:15 a.m.
Dear Members of the Brown Community,
We continue to be in mourning as a community about the tragic loss of life from gun violence that stole the lives of two of our students yesterday, while one remains in critical but stable condition. My goal is for our community to work together to get through this difficult time and feel safe on our campus again.
I hope all members of our community saw the update sent through the Rave alert system early this morning that Providence police have advised the University that the shelter in place order has ended for our full campus. We want to thank law enforcement for their dedicated and extensive work overnight to provide safety to our community. They have shared publicly that police have identified and detained a person of interest in their investigation. Our Department of Public Safety partnered closely with law enforcement from the city, the state, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies, all of whom worked together with fierce determination so that we could have a measure of comfort through a devastating time for our community.
It is important to note that there continues to be limited access to some areas of campus as police continue to investigate yesterday’s shooting. There are areas that are still considered an active crime scene. For these areas within the police investigation perimeter, if residents decide to leave, police cannot allow them to return, so we are asking students and members of our community to consider carefully if there are any belongings you need to take with you if you leave any of these areas.
We continue to focus our full attention on caring for our community. Teams of Brown staff continued to work overnight to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students. We estimate that a couple of thousand students were transported overnight by law enforcement from areas across campus that were part of the police perimeter, and we prioritized getting those students to a place where they could rest and receive any necessary resources.
Any students that law enforcement escorted and transported to our evacuation site in the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center were relocated last night through early this morning and received food and a place to sleep. I am deeply moved by all the students who opened their homes and their arms to welcome friends into their dorms and other residences while we transported others to local hotels.
It is with some relief, but still a heavy heart, that I share that the status of many of the shooting victims in the hospital is stable. Seven of the students are in critical but stable condition, but as I noted, one remains in critical condition. Our prayers continue to be with them and their families. As we shared last night, one student was discharged from the hospital last night and left with their parents. And of course, we continue to support the families of the two students who died. There are not enough words of comfort for families who lose a child, but we will do all we can.
For our campus community who have questions about academic activities for this coming week, Provost Francis J. Doyle III will share an update shortly on academic operations for the campus. We continue to work with partners across campus to provide information about other campus operations and scheduled activities. With just over a week until Winter Break, many campus activities have already been winding down, and we will be considering the impact of these heartbreaking events in considering whether scheduled events should proceed.
Over the course of the next several hours, support offices across campus will also communicate as needed about updates to other operations, including how students who were escorted by evacuation sites will be connected to items they left behind. We are committed to providing resources for ongoing support.
We know that the stress of this situation will live with our community for hours and days and weeks to come. We will find ways to be in community with each other.
Sincerely,
Christina H. Paxson
President
Sunday, December 14, 5:42 a.m.
BrownUAlert: Providence police have advised the University that the shelter in place order has ended for the entire Brown campus. However, police activity continues in areas that are still considered an active crime scene. Be advised that access to these areas of campus continues to be limited. Within the police perimeter, including Minden Hall and nearby apartment buildings, community members who leave those buildings will be unable to return. It is important to follow instructions from law enforcement at all times.
Sunday, December 14, 1:54 a.m.
BrownUAlert: Law enforcement officers continue to evacuate community members from administrative buildings inside the perimeter depicted on the map published at http://www.brown.edu (below). For all locations (inside and outside the perimeter), the shelter in place remains ongoing. Please see the president's email and Brown.edu for a message with additional details.
Sunday, December 14, 1:53 a.m.
Dear Brown Community,
I know the passing hours of this emergency have been filled with stress and anxiety for many in our community. This is an unimaginably tragic day —a day that no university community is ever prepared for. While we prepare for major crises, we always pray this day never comes. This is a time for our campus to care for each other and support each other.
As we have moved into the early-morning hours, Brown remains under a shelter-in-place order, and I know that many members of our community have questions about what this means for them. I am writing to provide information, while recognizing that this still remains a fluid situation. I encourage all members of our community to continue watching RAVE alerts and the Brown.edu website for updates about this ongoing emergency.
While the shelter in place order remains in effect, students who are in residence halls should remain there. Sheltering in place at this stage means staying indoors. Students in off-campus residences are advised to remain there until the lockdown is lifted. Students who were in Barus & Holley or in other academic and administrative buildings within the perimeter established by police as part of the active police scene have been and continue to be evacuated by RIPTA buses provided by the City of Providence and Brown shuttles to our Olney-Margolies Athletic Center (OMAC). Students in OMAC are receiving specific instructions from staff on-site about remaining on-site or leaving the area, depending on whether their destination is within or outside the perimeter established by police.
Providence Police have advised that our campus must remain on lockdown. It is an active police scene, and the priority is to keep everyone safe. All members of the campus community will receive an alert notifying students, faculty and staff when the shelter in place order is lifted. Until then, we advise parents and families not to travel to the Brown campus. This is for their safety.
As we look ahead to the next 24 hours, faculty members who had exams scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 14, informed their classes Saturday evening that there will be no scheduled exams Sunday. More information about academic matters will be forthcoming on Sunday morning.
Non-emergency staff who were scheduled for an overnight shift were informed to stand down and informed that they should not report to work for their shift while the shelter-in-place order remains in place.
I can confirm that the nine members of our community who were transported to local hospitals are all students. And we lost two students to today’s devastating gun violence. Our hearts go out to them. This is a day of tremendous sorrow. No parent or family member should ever have to endure a day like this.
We learned from the hospital that six students remain in critical but stable condition. One student is in critical condition, another is considered in stable condition, and one was treated and released. Our full focus right now is on our community, their safety and providing support for the victims and their families. I am not able to share further information about the shooting victims at this time.
We have reached out to the families of all the students and are offering any support we can. I have spoken to some of them and expect to speak to others soon. We stand ready to give them anything they need.
I want to thank every member of our community for every kindness, shoulder to lean on, and gesture of support that I know will come in the hours and days ahead as we work together as a community to be there for one another.
Sincerely,
Christina H. Paxson
President
Saturday, December 13, 11:06 p.m.
BrownUAlert: Law enforcement agencies have established a perimeter around a portion of Brown’s campus, as depicted on a map published at http://www.brown.edu (below). Individuals already in residential buildings within the perimeter should continue to shelter in place there. Police will enter all administrative (non-residential) buildings within the perimeter marked by the red boxes on the map to escort all individuals to safe locations outside of the perimeter. All individuals inside administrative buildings within the perimeter should continue to shelter in place until law enforcement officers arrive. For all locations (inside and outside the perimeter), the shelter in place remains ongoing — unless escorted by a law enforcement officer, this means ensuring no movement across or near campus.
Saturday, December 13, 9:29 p.m.
BrownUAlert: The Brown campus continues to be in lockdown, and it is imperative that all members of our community remain sheltered in place. This means keeping all doors locked and ensuring no movement across campus. The law enforcement response remains ongoing. Safety is the utmost and essential priority.
Saturday, December 13, 8:28 p.m.
BrownUAlert: The Brown campus continues to be in lockdown, and it is imperative that all members of our community remain sheltered in place. This means keeping all doors locked and ensuring no movement across campus. The law enforcement response remains ongoing. Safety is the utmost and essential priority.
Saturday, December 13, 8:22 p.m.
Email from Brown President Christina H. Paxson to parents and families: A tragic day for our community.
Saturday, December 13, 7:38 p.m.
Dear Brown Community,
This is a deeply tragic day for Brown, our families and our local community. There are truly no words that can express the deep sorrow we are feeling for the victims of the shooting that took place today at the Barus & Holley engineering and physics building.
We lost two community members today who were fatal victims of the shooting, and at this point, we know there are at least eight additional victims who were transported to the hospital. In this moment, they are in critical but stable condition, but this is an evolving situation. Our hearts are with their families.
Our Department of Public Safety has been working closely with law enforcement and has been informed that the suspect is still at large and the situation remains active. We know this is a source of tremendous fear and anxiety across our community right now. While DPS was at one point informed that there was an individual in custody, that person was determined not to be the shooting suspect after questioning. Therefore, we urge all members of our community to remain vigilant. We continue to be in lockdown, and it is imperative that all members of our community remain sheltered in place. This means keeping all doors locked and ensuring no movement across campus.
We know our community wants answers, and we will provide them as soon as we can. For now, please know we are doing all we can to keep our community safe and have mobilized support for the students and their families. I encourage you to read the updates being provided via the RAVE alert system and Brown.edu website about this emergency. We are committed to providing updates as soon as information is available.
As we have shared in the alerts, law enforcement is actively working to identify the community members who lost their lives, and we are working with local hospitals to identify those transported for care. Even when we have that information, we may not be able to release it to our campus immediately. Whether or not you spend any time in Barus & Holley, I ask all students, faculty and staff to please be in touch directly with your families to let them know you are safe. They are worried about you.
This is a day that we hoped never would come to our community. It is deeply devastating for all of us. We are grateful to law enforcement for their immediate response and their ongoing work to ensure the safety of our community. Please continue to take all steps to be safe.
Sincerely,
Christina H. Paxson
President
Saturday, December 13, 7:30 p.m.
BrownUAlert: Situation remains ongoing. Continue to shelter in place. Law enforcement remains on site.
Saturday, December 13, 6:33 p.m.
Brown Community,
We are providing an update to the active shooting situation. We are very sorry to share that we have confirmed reports of two deceased victims from the active shooting situation at the Barus & Holley engineering building.
There are eight additional victims in critical, but stable condition at the hospital. There remains a shelter in place order. The shooter or shooters still are not in custody at this time. Law enforcement is active in the area.
We know there is a lot of fear and concern and uncertainty in the community right now. Law enforcement is actively working to identify the deceased victims, and the hospital personnel also are working to identify those transported to the hospital.
As a reminder, please continue to take all steps to remain safe. Follow the instructions of law enforcement personnel and avoid the area. The safety of our community is foremost.
Any students or Brown community members who were in Barus & Holley at the time of the incident are being asked to contact police if they already have left Barus & Holley.
Saturday, December 13, 6:10 p.m.
BrownUAlert: Active Shooter: The earlier report of a secondary shooting incident near Governor Street is unfounded. However, it remains critical to continue to shelter in place due to the original situation. Stay tuned for further safety information.
Saturday, December 13, 6:05 p.m.
At 4:22 p.m., we alerted our campus to an active shooter incident near Barus & Holley Engineering. We immediately informed our community to shelter in place by locking doors, silencing phones and staying hidden until further notice. We have been providing further information to our community as and when it becomes available, but this remains an active crime scene, and law enforcement continues to search for the suspect. The situation is ongoing, and all members of the community should continue to shelter in place.
We are very sorry to share that we have confirmed reports of multiple shooting victims, but we do not yet have information about their condition that we are in a position to share. They have been transported to local hospitals.
Our first priority is the safety of our community and coordinating closely with local law enforcement and medical personnel to ensure their safety. We are working immediately to determine who was in the building at the time of the shooting. We had multiple exams scheduled in that building from 2 pm to 5 pm. We can confirm that support services are on site. We have also relocated students to get support services at a secure location.
Senior administrative leaders from across the University are convened in emergency command to mobilize ongoing response and support for our community. We are establishing support for our community and families.
We have been and continue to be very grateful to law enforcement and emergency medical personnel. Please continue to take all steps to remain safe. Follow the instructions of law enforcement personnel and avoid the area.
Saturday, December 13, 5:52 p.m.
BrownUAlert: Urgent: Situation remains ongoing. Continue to shelter in place. Law enforcement on site.
Saturday, December 13, 5:27 p.m.
BrownUAlert: Urgent: Report of shots fired near Governor street. Continue to shelter in place. Stay clear. Law enforcement responding.
Saturday, December 13, 5:11 p.m.
BrownUAlert: Urgent: Continue to shelter in place. Remain away from Barus & Holley area. Police do not have a suspect in custody and continue to search for suspect(s). Brown coordinating with multiple law enforcement agencies on site. Emergency medical on scene. Stay tuned for further safety information.
Saturday, December 13, 4:22 p.m.
BrownUAlert: 1st, Urgent: There's an active shooter near Barus & Holley Engineering. Lock doors, silence phones and stay stay hidden until further notice. Remember: RUN, if you are in the affected location, evacuate safely if you can; HIDE, if evacuation is not possible, take cover; FIGHT, as a last resort, take action to protect yourself. Stay tuned for further safety information.