1 of 5 | Police in Providence, R.I., on Monday night released new photos and videos of the possible shooter two hours before the attack that killed two students Monday at Brown University. Photo by Providence Police/X
Amid an “all-hands-on-deck” manhunt for the shooter who killed two students at Brown University, police in Rhode Island on Monday night released new photos and videos of the possible shooter two hours before the attack on Saturday.
Earlier Monday, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said the attacker was at large and there were “no credible threats” after a person of interest detained early Sunday was released.
Providence police Chief Oscar L. Perez, Jr. gave a briefing update Monday night in connection with the shooting that also injured nine people.
No more news conferences were planned for Monday.
1/4 We are requesting the public's assistance in identifying a person of interest in Saturday's incident at Brown University. Please share these video clips and direct all tips to 401-272-3121 or https://t.co/8a1yEMYJya pic.twitter.com/D63mcbnq8J— Providence Police (@ProvidenceRIPD) December 15, 2025
Perez showed visuals of a man walking on a sidewalk in the area, who appeared to be dressed in black with a face mask and a beanie. A poster released by the FBI says the shooter is “approximately 5’8 with a stocky build.”
The @FBI and @ProvidenceRIPD are releasing new images of a person of interest in the mass shooting at Brown University on December 13, 2025.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the individual…. pic.twitter.com/8LdPVxn7EV— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) December 15, 2025
“It’s all hands on deck,” Perez told reporters, noting state police and federal agencies are assisting in the search.
Police asked for tips if anyone recognized the individual. The FBI also announced it’s offering a $50,000 reward for information about the shooter.
The FBI’s evidence response teams are on Brown University’s campus, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston field office Ted Docks said Monday.
FBI agents were seen on Monday clearing snow from a cement wall in front of a house near the intersection of Cooke Street and Waterman Street
Dock said agents “are documenting the trajectories of the bullets to reconstruct the scene. It’s painstaking work. We are asking the public to be patient as we continue to run down every lead so we can get victims, survivors and their families, and all of you the answers you deserve.”
Perez said are looking at different aspects of the case.
“All detectives throughout this nation and in the world understand that when you investigate in a case, it takes different paths,” Perez said.
“You know, you start somewhere, you start here, and all of a sudden, something else pops off, and you’re going in a different direction. And that’s what happens. It’s complex.”
That includes determining whether the shooter is still in the Providence area.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said authorities are working to reconstruct the person’s movements before and after Saturday’s shooting.
“I would describe today’s work as making steady progress to identifying the person that we saw in the video that was released yesterday,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said during a news conference.
“And the sooner we can identify that person, the sooner we can, I think, blow this case open.”
President Donald Trump on Monday blamed Brown University for the failure to quickly identify a suspect in connection.
“You’d really have to ask the school a little bit more about that, because this was a school problem. They had their own guards, they had their own police and their own everything,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
“But you’d have to ask that question, really, to the school, not to the FBI. We came in after the fact, and the FBI will do a good job, but they came in after the fact.”
Situation in Rhode Island
Smiley said there is an enhanced police presence on campus and in the city, noting “Providence receives really the best law enforcement, you know, I believe in the country,” but acknowledged “it is going to be hard for my city to feel safe going forward, this has shaken us.”
Smiley told ABC News earlier Monday: “We understand that there’s a high degree of anxiety and after this individual was released last night, I understand that anxiety level has risen in our community. But it’s no different than a day ago, which is that we’ve received — continue to receive – zero credible threats to our community, Brown or the broader community.”
Brown has canceled the remainder of its fall semester classes and exams.
An introductory economics final exam review session was being held in the Barus and Holley engineering and physics building when the shooting occurred around 4 p.m. Saturday.
The private Ivy League school has a total enrollment of 11,956 students, including 7,272 undergraduate students.
Public schools in Providence were all open with “planned support and increased safety presence” in coordination with city officials, a spokesperson for the public school district told CNN.
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee the state is reassessing safety issues in schools following the shooting at Brown University.
“We are reassessing all safety issues in all our schools in the state of Rhode Island and more to come on that,” McKee said during the evening news conference.
The victims
The two victims who died were identified as Muhammad Aziz Umurzakov of Uzbekistan and Ella Cook of Birmingham, Ala. Cook was vice president of Brown’s chapter of College Republicans.
Cook’s church, Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, said she was “incredible, grounded, faithful, bright light” growing up in the church “but at Brown University, she was an incredible light in that particular place as well,” NBC News reported.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt retweeted a statement from the Brown College Republicans President and said, “There are no words. Thinking of her family and friends, especially her parents. God please bless them.” She has not mentioned Umurzakov.
There are no words. Thinking of her family and friends, especially her parents. God please bless them. https://t.co/226sRCSXgs— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) December 15, 2025
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said on X: “I am heartbroken to hear that Mountain Brook’s Ella Cook was among those killed over the weekend at Brown University. Our hearts and our prayers are with the Cook family and everyone impacted by this senseless killing.”
Rep. Katie Britt, R-Ala., said on X: “There are no words that can ease the pain Ella’s family and friends are enduring right now. … Our hearts are breaking for the Cook family.
The Uzbekistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a post on Telegram, “The loss of innocent lives as a result of this tragedy is a heavy loss for all of us.”
Umurzokov’s aunt, Karina Gabit, told NBC, “He was very kind, smart. [He] attended talented and gifted schools.” He “wanted to be a neurosurgeon ’cause when he was 10 he had a very serious eight-hours-long brain surgery.”
About Brown University
Brown University, founded in 1764, was originally named Rhode Island College. It was renamed in 1804 in honor of businessman and alumnus Nicholas Brown Jr. in recognition of a significant donation he made to the institution.
Brown, who was in the Class of 1786, over the years gave $160,000 to fund additional buildings and endowments.
The endowment is $8 billion, which contributed a record $352 million to the university’s operating budget, accounting for 23.3% of total revenue. That includes funding scholarships for students.
The total estimated cost of attendance, including fees, housing, food and other personal expenses, is approximately $95,984.
