Emergency Information
December 14, 9:52 a.m.
Email from Brown President Christina H. Paxson to alumni and friends: Tragic time for our Brown Community.
December 14, 8:47 a.m.
Email from Brown President Christina H. Paxson to parents and families: Campus operations after yesterday’s tragedy.
December 14, 8:39 a.m.
Sharpe Refectory is now open to all students in need of food.
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
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
December 13, 7:30 p.m.
BrownUAlert: Situation remains ongoing. Continue to shelter in place. Law enforcement remains on site.
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.
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.
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.
December 13, 5:52 p.m.
BrownUAlert: Urgent: Situation remains ongoing. Continue to shelter in place. Law enforcement on site.
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.
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.
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.