As the Rhode Island community mourns, the FBI hopes a new photo and video will generate tips from the public that could help them close in on the killer behind thebrazen attack at Brown University.
An enhanced video offers sharper images of a masked man walking purposefully through Providence neighborhoods, possibly casing the area before the attack that left two dead and nine injured over the weekend, according to police. That person is more than likely the suspected shooter, not just a person of interest, Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez said.
Authorities are also looking to identify an individualin newly released photoswho was "close enough" to the person of interest that officers say they need to speak with them.
Still, officials said in a Tuesday evening news conference that the shooter's motive remains unclear.
Speculation about what the alleged shooter may have yelled before opening fire – while witnesses disagree if anything was said at all – is a "dangerous road to go down, particularly in today's environment," Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha warned.
Memorials placed at Brown University in aftermath of mass shooting
The shooting rocked Providence and the community at Brown, one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the country. The university scheduled a virtual interfaith prayer service Wednesday.
The two students who were killed in the mass shooting have been identified as Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook, according to the school.
'Bright light' and a 'role model':Brown University students killed in attack remembered
Witness, survivor descriptions of the shooter match person of interest
Perez confirmed during a Dec. 17 press conference that witnesses have given a description of the shooter that match the person of interest in enhanced photos and videos.
Perez was asked if any of the witnesses or surviving students described that person of interest as the shooter, or gave a description that was similar to the person of interest.
"Yes they have," Perez said.
Neronha said earlier in the press conference that authorities are being protective of what exactly witnesses have said about the attack so they can protect those who were in the area from being swayed by outside information.
That also includes what kind of firearm was used in the shooting. Officials have confirmed only that it was a 9mm firearm.
"As we interview witnesses, we don't want them to learn facts from these press conferences. We want them to relay the facts that they have in their heads, including a person of interest," Neronha said, answering a reporter's question.
-Margie Cullen, Providence Journal
Physical, DNA evidence being used to find person of interest
Authorities have found "actual physical evidence," including DNA evidence, in the investigation to find the gunman in the deadly Brown University shooting.
"We have found a lot of evidence that we need to use and utilize them to hopefully guide us in the right direction in order to identify the individual that we're looking for," Perez said during a Wednesday press conference.
Authorities over the weekend detained and released a subject they thought was involved in the shooting because the person's DNA did not match.
Neronha said that when using DNA, authorities can get a search warrant for a "buckle swab" that allows law enforcement to rule people in or out based on "a known quantum of evidence."
Neronha underscored that it's a combination of evidence, including DNA, as well as public response that will help law enforcement catch the alleged gunman.
"The public is going to really help us here by identifying this person. But at the same time, there are other leads coming in through other forms of electronic and other evidence that are taking teams – multiple teams – out in different directions. And we're able, through a variety of needs, not just DNA evidence to rule people in or rule people out," he said.
Police release photo of individual seen in 'vicinity' of person of interest
Providence Police on Wednesday released images of a person they say was in the same proximity of the person of interest and are asking for the public to help identify them or for the individual to contact authorities.
The person in those images was "close enough" to the person of interest that officers need to speak with them, Perez said during the news conference on Wednesday.
Perez said video footage shows the person was in the "vicinity" of the person of interest.
"I wish the video could speak, and then I'll have the answers that we need so that we can continue on this investigation," Perez said.
Providence police release map of where person of interest was before, after shooting
Providence Police released a map that showed where the person of interest in the Brown shooting was "confirmed to have been present on the day of the incident."
Before the shooting, the map shows the individual was in the following locations: Manning Street between Hope Street and George Street; Cooke Street between Manning Street and Benevolent; George Street between Hope Street and Governor Street; Hope Street between George Street and Benevolent Street; and Governor Street between Benevolent Street and Young Orchard Avenue.
Streets where the person of interest was present after the shooting include: Hope Street from Manning Street to Waterman Street; Waterman Street from Hope Street to Governor Street; and one block of Ives Street between Pitman Street and East Manning Street.
Police are requesting any camera footage from buildings or vehicles in the "blue zone" from any time on the day of the shooting. That area stretches from Waterman Street to Wickenden Street, and Gano Street to Thayer Street.
-Antonia Noori Farzan, Providence Journal
Brown University hosts prayer service after shooting
Brown University hosted avirtual interfaith prayer serviceon Wednesday that offered prayers to the families of the victims in the deadly shooting, Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook, as well as the community as authorities continue to search for the gunman.
President Christina Paxson opened the virtual interfaith prayer service by reciting Psalm 23, which begins, "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness, for his name's sake."
The virtual service included music, including "Amazing Grace," a moment of silence and various prayers and blessings from Christian, Catholic, Buddhist, Jewish and Muslim faiths.
Video footage could be key to identifying Brown shooter
Though the initial images of the suspect in the Brown shooting were "not all that helpful," the clearer, newly released footage could prove crucial in helping identify the shooter, according to Dan Linskey, former chief of the Boston Police Department.
The suspect's "unique" clothing and gait could be enough for friends, family or even a member of the public to identify them, Linskey said. And the footage will also help investigators track the shooter's movements in both the days before and after the shooting in the hopes of locating them or securing a clearer picture of their face.
"There's a whole host of things that you can do from that with AI and facial recognition," said Linskey.
He said the investigation is similar to the search forLuigi Mangione, which involved extensive video canvases of thousands of hours of footage, and the manhunt for the perpetrators of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, during which Linskey served as the incident commander.
Though there has been criticism of the lack of security cameras and clear footage inside the building where the shooting occurred, Linskey said that is "not a failure."
"Most likely the person was still going to be masked up, and still we would have not been able to have focused on their face, and we'd be in a similar place that we are now," said Linskey, now a managing director at financial and risk advisory solutions providerKroll.
-N'dea Yancey-Bragg
Hospital gives update on victims injured in Brown shooting
On Wednesday, the Rhode Island Hospital said six patients wounded in the shooting at Brown University are now in stable condition, one is in critical but stable condition and two have been discharged.
Dr. Dean Roye, Rhode Island Hospital's chief medical officer, said critical but stable requires an intensive care unit (ICU) for intensive clinical and nursing care in a patient with stable vital signs. It implies an improvement from critical condition, suggesting an improving trend. Critical condition requires an ICU for intensive clinical care for potentially life threatening issues.
-Jonny Williams, Providence Journal
Freshman, volleyball player identified as wounded victim in Brown shooting
Spencer Yang, a Brown University freshman and setter on the volleyball team, has been released from the hospital after he was shot in the leg on Saturday, the Brown Men's Volleyball team said in asocial media post on Wednesday.
After he was shot, Yang provided aid to a severely injured student until police and emergency medical services arrived on scene, the team said.
"That is the kind of person he is. We are beyond proud of him and are wishing him a speedy recovery," Brown Men's Volleyball said in an Instagram post. "We can't wait to share the court with him again."
Brown Men's Volleyball called Yang a "core member" of the team – both a model athlete and friend.
"He is constantly bringing laughter, positivity, and light to the whole team, both on and off the court. He is so so loved by all of us and we could not be more grateful that he is safe and recovering," the team wrote.
The team said that gun violence has "no place in schools" and that it hopes to see "meaningful change" so this does not occur again.
-Bailey Allen, the Providence Journal
After Brown shooting, school to review its security measures
Most buildings on Brown's campus have traditionally been open and have not required a swipe card during daytime hours, but the university plans to do "large-scale systematic security review of the entire campus," Brian Clark, Vice President for News and Strategic Campus Communications, said on Wednesday.
"We would hope people understand that college campuses are more like cities than corporate headquarters or a school in a self-contained building with one or a few points of entry," Clark wrote to media outlets who had inquired about campus security measures. "Just like cities and communities across the country, most spaces on campuses do not have guards or gates at every point of access. In the daytime, most buildings on college campuses are open and accessible, while after hours, ID card swipes are required for entry."
At Brown, that's true for "many buildings, including academic buildings, the campus center, athletics facilities and many facilities with administrative offices," he said. In recent days, however, Brown has heightened security.
"We know we live in a different time," Clark wrote.
Clark also confirmed that Brown has "more than 1,200 cameras installed across campus buildings and spaces in both interior and exterior locations."
"Among other locations, these are deployed especially in high-traffic areas such as streets, sidewalks and campus walkways with significant foot traffic; and in academic and administrative buildings with an emphasis on entry and exit points," he wrote.
-Antonia Noori Farzan, the Providence Journal
See the video: FBI releases footage of Brown shooting person of interest
The FBI on Tuesday released a new video showing a timeline of the movements of a person seen dressed all in black and wearing a mask that officials said is likely the suspected shooter. The video is compiled from clips that appear to be taken from security cameras around the Brown campus neighborhood, including from home surveillance systems.
In the videos, the person is seen walking and in one instance running in the hours leading up to the shooting.
Trump criticizes lack of security cameras at Brown shooting scene
PresidentDonald Trumpcriticized Brown University for what he said wastoo few security camerasas authorities have asked residents of the surrounding area and community members to submit any video or images they may have that captured the shooter.
"Why did Brown University have so few Security Cameras? There can be no excuse for that. In the modern age, it just doesn't get worse!!!" he said in a post to his social media platform, Truth Social, in the early morning hours Wednesday.
More:Brown security cameras not linked to Providence 'Real Time Crime' center
On Tuesday, the FBI released several new video clips showing a person of interest walking in the neighborhood near Brown in the hours leading up to the shooting, dressed in all black and wearing a face mask. Investigators have canvassed the area to look for more footage from home and business cameras.
The building where the shooting took place, the Barus and Holley building, is equipped with some cameras, but the shooting took place in an "older" portion of the building that has "few, if any" security cameras, Attorney General Peter Neronha has said. There is video footage from the incident, but it shows only "chaos," and not the shooter leaving the scene, Neronha said on Tuesday. Students fled into the "newer" portion of the building with more cameras.
He said investigators don't have video footage of the suspect from inside the building, and the only footage they have is from outside the building.
Person of interest likely a suspect in Brown shooting, city police chief says
Providence's top cop said the person wearing dark clothes seen in video footage shared by the FBI is likely more than just a person of interest in the shooting.
"There's a lot of leads we have here that show that the person who committed this tragedy is the guy in this video," said Perez.
The chief did not say what other leads point to the person in the video footage.
Witnesses said the person was probably in his 30s and it was unclear if the person was affiliated with Brown, Perez said.
'Nothing to indicate motive' in Brown shooting, AG says
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said there is "nothing to indicate motive at all related to ethnicity or political outlook."
"That is a dangerous road to go down," said the attorney general, adding that while one or two witnesses heard the shooter "shout something," others did not.
Neronha was speaking at a news conference on Tuesday evening. At about the same time, Brown put out a statement dispelling rumors about a potential suspect, urging people not to target individuals. The university removed a webpage featuring a community member and said there was "harmful doxxing activity."
Contributing: the Providence Journal
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Brown shooting latest: FBI hopes new video brings in clues
