Brown University shooting latest: ‘Person of interest’ released and manhunt continues for suspect in attack that killed 2

A “person of interest” was detained in the early morning hours Sunday, but officials said he was released late that night, resuming a manhunt more than 30 hours after the attack.

Here is everything we know.

Colonel Oscar L. Perez said the FBI acted on a tip to track down the person of interest.

“There was a tip that came in specifically identifying a person of interest, which was this individual,” he told reporters Sunday.

“Our detectives got on it but this specific one was actually picked up by the FBI ... They ended up locating this individual of interest,” he added.

“At that point, we did a thorough investigation ... drafted some search warrants, came up with some evidence,” Perez said.

But “we didn’t have enough to prosecute anybody so that person was released,” he said.

For two Brown University students, receiving a campus-wide emergency text message of an active shooter triggered memories of school shootings they experienced as children.

As officials acknowledged a massive blow to the Brown University community, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha told reporters Sunday that “sometimes you head in one direction, and then you have to regroup and go in another, and that’s exactly what has happened over the last 24 hours or so.

“Obviously we have a murderer out there, frankly, and so we’re not going to give away the game plan,” he said.

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said the news of the release of a person of interest — with no suspect in hand — is “likely to cause fresh anxiety for our community.

“We believe that you remain safe in our community,” he added.

The person of interest in the Brown University shooting is being released, according to the mayor of Providence.

“I once again encourage anyone who thinks that they might have relevant information to assist with our ongoing investigation,” Mayor Brett Smiley said in a hastily arranged news briefing Sunday night.

Law enforcement officials said “evidence now points in a different direction.”

The manhunt continues for a suspect who killed two people and injured nine others more than 30 hours after the attack.

An Alabama woman was among the two students killed in the mass shooting at Brown University, according to her church.

Cathedral Church of the Advent in downtown Birmingham said one of its parishioners, Ella Cook, was killed in Saturday’s attack.

“Heartbroken tonight over the news that Ella Cook from Birmingham was killed in yesterday’s shooting at Brown University,” Alabama Rep. Terry Sewell wrote, sharing new

“My prayers are with her family and loved ones,” she said.

A Democratic senator who was a champion of gun reforms in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting in his state blamed Donald Trump on Sunday for encouraging a “dizzying” campaign of violence, hours after authorities announced that a person of interest was apprehended for a mass shooting at Brown University.

Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy told CNN’s Dana Bash on State of the Union that the president’s rhetoric and actions since returning to the White House made violence “more likely” in America.

“He has been engaged in a pretty deliberate campaign to try to make violence more likely in this country, and I think you’re unfortunately going to see the results of that on the streets of America,” Murphy said.

John Bowden reports...

A “person of interest” in the Brown University mass shooting was detained at hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island, early Sunday morning, officials said.

“The people of Providence should breathe a little easier this morning,” Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said at a Sunday press conference.

Graig Graziosi reports...

Providence officials announced on Sunday evening that the investigation into the mass shooting at Brown University “remains active and ongoing.”

More information will be provided as officials obtain “a clearer and more complete picture of the circumstances involved,” Providence Chief Public Information Officer for Public Safety Kristy DosReis said in statement released at 7:58 p.m.

Amith Chintalapati, a junior at Brown University, told NBC News that he was walking on campus yesterday when he saw victims of the mass shooting on the street.

“I saw some people huddled on the ground, and I realized that two people got shot and had made their way to the street, and people were applying pressure and trying to keep them from bleeding out,” he told the outlet on Sunday.

He said one of the victims was a classmate of his and that he rushed to assist.

“I just kept telling him he was OK and to breathe and just wait for the EMTs to arrive,” Chintalapati said.

Soon after, police arrived and instructed him to take shelter. He hid out in a dorm room for about eight hours and was informed around midnight that his classmate was in stable condition in the hospital.