Dear Brown Alumni and Friends,

With deep sorrow, I write today to our extended family of Brown alumni and friends to share that our campus remains in deep mourning after losing two members of our community to gun violence. Two students died yesterday during an active shooting incident, one remains in critical but stable condition, and the Brown campus remained on lockdown overnight.

On Sunday morning, police advised the University that the shelter in place order has ended for our full campus, and law enforcement officials shared publicly they have identified and detained a person of interest in their investigation.

The past 24 hours really have been unimaginable — it’s a tragedy that no university community is ever ready for. While we always prepare for major crises, we also pray such a day never comes. I want to thank the many alumni who have written and called to offer their support as we have been focused on ensuring the safety of the campus and supporting our students.

As many of you likely have learned, we alerted the campus at 4:22 p.m. Saturday to an active shooter incident at the Barus & Holley engineering and physics building. We immediately informed our community to shelter in place by locking doors, silencing phones and staying hidden until further notice. We were able to evacuate students who were in the active crime zone to a safe location, where we provided support.

We were in communication with the evacuated students and encouraged them to be sure to be in regular touch with their families, especially to allay concerns about their physical safety. We provided support and food to students who were evacuated to an emergency site and not able to return to their residences. 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.

Provost Francis J. Doyle III shared an update with our campus a short time ago on academic operations. Given these deeply tragic events, 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. Over the course of the next several hours, support offices across campus will also communicate as needed about updates to other operations. We are committed to providing resources for ongoing support.

Since the earliest moments of this incident, our full attention has remained on our community, their safety and providing support for the victims and their families. 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, one student remains in critical condition, and one student was treated yesterday and released. This is in addition to the two students who were fatal victims of the shooting. Our prayers continue to be with them and their families.

We have reached out to the families of all the hospitalized shooting victims and are offering any support we can. I have spoken to some of the families and expect to speak to others soon. Our hearts go out to all of them, and we stand ready to give them anything they need. No parent or family member should ever have to endure this pain, suffering or the continuing fear that we know is very real for so many Brown families right now.

Brown’s Department of Public Safety continues to work closely with city, state and federal law enforcement. Even with a person of interest now in custody, we know that the passing hours of this emergency have been filled with stress and anxiety for many in our community. We continue to be grateful to the local agencies who have mobilized to work with the teams of Brown staff who have been ensuring the safety of our students. We know there is a long road ahead as students and families deal with the after effects of the events of the past day and the emergency that is still unfolding.

I want to thank our Brown community of students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and friends for every kindness and gesture of support that we have received and that I know will come in the hours and days ahead. We are a caring community, and I am moved by the many ways we continue to be there for one another. My goal is for our community to work together to get through this difficult time and feel safe on our campus again.

Sincerely,

Christina H. Paxson
President