RI - Mass Shooting at Brown University - Providence 13 Dec 2025

[maamager]

sorry if this has been mentioned repeatedly, but this happening on Saturday is strange to me as far as targeting a school, but i’m sure the campus was packed for finals. could this person not get off work any other day? or has weekday obligation? he clearly had an escape plan. odd.
just wondering moo i think he had a vehicle

eta: imo i think he is an out of towner. probably used a rental, parked somewhere close and dropped a bag off. he’s locking his hands and strolling around in that one clip because i think he’s near his car, trying to act as if it isn’t his. by trying to look chill, this person tells on themselves — TOTALLY speculating though

 

[Charlot123]

Public transit in Rhode Island is mainly buses, although there's been a train that goes to Boston. Access is mainly at ground level. To the best of my recollection, there are no public transit facilities with elevators, except at the airport. If he's from Rhode Island, or adjacent areas in Connecticut or Massachusetts, he probably has a car. It's hard to live without one.

All RI, but especially Brown area, is quite compact. He might know it well (he seems to), but by the same token, he would be recognized if he were a local living around Brown U. People cluster in the same places.

Yet he seems to know the cameras. I remember the complaints of students/postdocs attending Brown over a decade ago, when there were fewer cameras around.

They complained that the area around Brown was frequently robbed, and very quietly so. It seems that all the thieves needed to know was the schedule. Entering when everyone is out, students don’t keep huge locks anyhow, and stealing money or jewelry or small electronics would be such a nonchalant routine... I don’t know if it was local mafia, amateurs or something in between. They never got in trouble and there was no violence associated with robbery. Usually thieves and mass shooters don’t merge, but thieves in the U-districts would have all the necessary knowledge. Just an idea.

Either a person familiar with the area from thieving, or regular delivery driver, or maybe someone working in one of facilities (e.g. geriatric) around Brown, too. No one notices the people working there.

The shooter is rather imperceptible (my guess about his ethnicity is as random as anyone’s, but just my guess why people have trouble figuring it out: it is one of the few groups with variable phenotypes; highly ethnically diverse). I would say that he looks bundled up so proportions from the back, shape of shoulders, height might be more telling.

And I think he is pretty sick, but I doubt he killed himself. I wonder if he merely went home, tbh.

 

[Sillybilly]

The more I think about this, the more I think this guy didn't have much of a plan at all.

There is no practical reason to loiter around that area for hours if you have a specific target in mind. There's no intelligence to be gleaned from walking around side streets, when you plan to enter a specific classroom in a specific building, at a specific time.

I think he was unstable, conflicted, and playing things by ear.

That's a vibe I get Mass.
Not seeing any rocket science happening there. Seems too jittery for any real professionalism, almost like he was considering chickening out and having to psyche up for it.

 

[iamshadow21]

That's a vibe I get Mass.
Not seeing any rocket science happening there. Seems too jittery for any real professionalism, almost like he was considering chickening out and having to psyche up for it.

We're conditioned by fiction to think that anyone who gets away clean is some kind of Moriarty.

When in fact, it's just luck, most of the time. They didn't plan that well, didn't have a sky high IQ, they picked the street with bad cameras by chance, and they actually assumed that they'd be caught quickly.

MOO

 

[Serononin]

While that's certainly possible, it's not clear why such a person would loiter around the neighborhood apparently waiting for a specific class/review session. There may have been something specific about that review session, instructor, or classroom that he targeted.

(At first I thought it was something about the engineering building -- for instance, if he was someone who was rejected by a graduate program housed in that building and wanted to shoot people up there. But if there were other review sessions or exams in the building earlier, as seems likely, it's not clear why he loitered around town instead of going into the building earlier.)

JMO

I'm probably waaaay off base with this speculation, but at the universities I've been to (especially the one where I did my undergrad), there were a few newer buildings that sparked controversy and even protest because of who funded their construction (think oil companies, military contractors, shady foreign governments, etc.). There was never any violence, but there was certainly anger (I was briefly a student rep on the design steering committee for one of the buildings, and I was a little nervous to mention it at times, even though I was only there to talk about disabled students' thoughts on making the place accessible)

 

[Serononin]

The more I think about this, the more I think this guy didn't have much of a plan at all.

There is no practical reason to loiter around that area for hours if you have a specific target in mind. There's no intelligence to be gleaned from walking around side streets, when you plan to enter a specific classroom in a specific building, at a specific time.

I think he was unstable, conflicted, and playing things by ear.

Yeah, I definitely wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be a guy with no prior record whose friends and family are totally blindsided by what he's done

 

[Barry]

The more I think about this, the more I think this guy didn't have much of a plan at all.

There is no practical reason to loiter around that area for hours if you have a specific target in mind. There's no intelligence to be gleaned from walking around side streets, when you plan to enter a specific classroom in a specific building, at a specific time.

I think he was unstable, conflicted, and playing things by ear.

That's a vibe I get Mass.
Not seeing any rocket science happening there. Seems too jittery for any real professionalism, almost like he was considering chickening out and having to psyche up for it.

I mostly agree, and think this is the case. A small part of me thinks his actions look like purposeful theatrics though. This guy seems like an odd duck for sure.

 

[BigCityAccountant1]

That's a vibe I get Mass.
Not seeing any rocket science happening there. Seems too jittery for any real professionalism, almost like he was considering chickening out and having to psyche up for it.

Agreed on the chickening out or having to psyche up for it. That's why IMHO, I believe it was targeted, but not for political or ethnic reasons. I believe it was stalking/infatuation. Running his reasons through his head--why he should shoot and why he should not. That's why I go back to high school or maybe church stalking/infatuation and being rejected by EC. I would be looking at EC's social media and looking at who was messenging her, liking her posts. Maybe someone who moved away and tried to keep in contact with her. I believe she was nice to this person and he wanted more out of a friendship but she had no interest in this person. Of course, I may be proven wrong when they catch this guy and I sure hope they do and soon!

 

[Serononin]

sorry if this has been mentioned repeatedly, but this happening on Saturday is strange to me as far as targeting a school, but i’m sure the campus was packed for finals. could this person not get off work any other day? or has weekday obligation? he clearly had an escape plan. odd.
just wondering moo i think he had a vehicle

eta: imo i think he is an out of towner. probably used a rental, parked somewhere close and dropped a bag off. he’s locking his hands and strolling around in that one clip because i think he’s near his car, trying to act as if it isn’t his. by trying to look chill, this person tells on themselves — TOTALLY speculating though

I wonder if he had a vehicle, but not necessarily a car? A bike would be easy enough to tuck away on a quiet side street, for instance

 

[Inthedetails]

Revised map based on the new videos:

View attachment 631191

It's tricky to show directions without getting a lot more involved, but I tried to include general directionality in the title along with the time of the sighting. Of note, he appears to have walked up Hope towards Lot 42 at 1453 and disappeared for a little over an hour before the shooting. He also went east on George several times, just to return back to the general perimeter he was making. Makes me think there was something somewhat significant to him a little ways down George.

Maps are so helpful, as are timelines. And here we have both in one graphic. Thank you!

jmo

 

[justtrish]

I wrote down all the notes from the video LE released yesterday. Example 56 Cooke shows walking East on Manning and turning south on Cooke.

I wrote the times and then where he was walking. I pulled up google maps and just followed along for the entire route they outlined yesterday. I thought he was just randomly wandering, but after looking at the map and reading where he was walking, I think he was looking for someone or something. I had a thought if someone was say dropping a bag somewhere for him and he didn't bring a cell phone, then he wouldn't have a way to contact that person to get updates. So, he might be walking up and down a few streets waiting, watching, etc. OR he could have pre-planted a bag and he was trying to retrieve it, but maybe he kept seeing and had to wait for the right time. I think whatever it was it happened around Cooke and George Street.

Here are the directions if anyone wants to also look at a map and follow. I might be easier to see what I am talking about if you do.

2pm walking east on Manning and turning south on Cooke
2:04 walking on George heading east toward Governor
2:07 walking on George heading west toward Cooke

*** so he walks down one street and right back on the same street

2:08 walking south on Cooke
2:09 Walking east on Benevolent and then west toward Cooke

*** so he walks down the next street and turns back on the same street

2:13 walking on George going west toward Cooke
2:16 walking north on Cooke then abruptly west on George
**** this is where second person follows

2:18 walking south on Hope
2:20 RUNNING east on Benevolent towards Cooke and he turns north on Cooke

Interesting there is no mention of footage showing him walking north on Cooke. There is a camera there at 110 Benevolent that captures him walking north on Cooke earlier and turning west on George. This is the same camera that captured someone follow him just a few minutes before. So, he basically circles the block after the person followed him and he's heading right back to the spot where he encountered the person and ran. BUT if he wasn't seen on camera, he had to have gotten into a car there or he is seen and they aren't sharing that footage.

***This is where there is a large gap. He isn't seen on camera again until 2:51.

At 2:51 he's seen walking west on George toward Cooke
2:52 he's on Cooke and turns west on Manning
2:52 walking west on Manning
2:53 Nissan rogue catches him turning north on Hope

403- shooting

 

[justtrish]

Revised map based on the new videos:

View attachment 631191

It's tricky to show directions without getting a lot more involved, but I tried to include general directionality in the title along with the time of the sighting. Of note, he appears to have walked up Hope towards Lot 42 at 1453 and disappeared for a little over an hour before the shooting. He also went east on George several times, just to return back to the general perimeter he was making. Makes me think there was something somewhat significant to him a little ways down George.

I just made a post that might help people follow this map! I had to write all the directions down and look at a map to get a feel for what he was doing. I think you are right about Geoge Street. He encountered the person at the corner of Cooke and George.. this causes him to run around the corner onto George and then walk to Hope and head south, then he RUNS on Benevolent Street toward Cooke and is seen turning north on Cooke and then nothing. We know there is a camera there because your #4 is where a camera caught him going north earlier before encountering the man. Next we see is him heading west on George (your #10) So what happens after he's seen running down Benevolent and turning north on Cooke?? He somehow ends up on George heading west 30 minutes later.

 

[Megnut]

If he's an older guy, he might not be relying on any kind of digital help. No phone, map, google searches. He may be familiar with that area from decades ago, including the older buildings at Brown. Maybe his connection to the school isn't current but an old grievance. Really old. Could have been a freshman dropout/kickout, failed grade(s), mounting resentment, built up over many years. Maybe he's acting out something he's fantasized about, regretting he hadn't done it then. Raging underachiever in his real life. No connection to the victims, the students, the department even. Carrying out a vendetta from another era.

JMO

 

[m00c0w]

I wrote down all the notes from the video LE released yesterday. Example 56 Cooke shows walking East on Manning and turning south on Cooke.

I wrote the times and then where he was walking. I pulled up google maps and just followed along for the entire route they outlined yesterday. I thought he was just randomly wandering, but after looking at the map and reading where he was walking, I think he was looking for someone or something. I had a thought if someone was say dropping a bag somewhere for him and he didn't bring a cell phone, then he wouldn't have a way to contact that person to get updates. So, he might be walking up and down a few streets waiting, watching, etc. OR he could have pre-planted a bag and he was trying to retrieve it, but maybe he kept seeing and had to wait for the right time. I think whatever it was it happened around Cooke and George Street.

Here are the directions if anyone wants to also look at a map and follow. I might be easier to see what I am talking about if you do.

2pm walking east on Manning and turning south on Cooke
2:04 walking on George heading east toward Governor
2:07 walking on George heading west toward Cooke

*** so he walks down one street and right back on the same street

2:08 walking south on Cooke
2:09 Walking east on Benevolent and then west toward Cooke

*** so he walks down the next street and turns back on the same street

2:13 walking on George going west toward Cooke
2:16 walking north on Cooke then abruptly west on George
**** this is where second person follows

2:18 walking south on Hope
2:20 RUNNING east on Benevolent towards Cooke and he turns north on Cooke

Interesting there is no mention of footage showing him walking north on Cooke. There is a camera there at 110 Benevolent that captures him walking north on Cooke earlier and turning west on George. This is the same camera that captured someone follow him just a few minutes before. So, he basically circles the block after the person followed him and he's heading right back to the spot where he encountered the person and ran. BUT if he wasn't seen on camera, he had to have gotten into a car there or he is seen and they aren't sharing that footage.

***This is where there is a large gap. He isn't seen on camera again until 2:51.

At 2:51 he's seen walking west on George toward Cooke
2:52 he's on Cooke and turns west on Manning
2:52 walking west on Manning
2:53 Nissan rogue catches him turning north on Hope

403- shooting

The running is what gets me. It’s almost like he’s trying to keep something/someone in his view with how it’s occurring. He will turn a corner and then start walking normally. It’s like he lost visual on someone and then ran to the corner to make sure he could still see where they are going. But obviously has to stop running to avoid drawing the attention of the individual.

It’s also entirely possible the person is experiencing hallucinations/delusions and the person he’s stalking doesn’t actually exist…

 

[Dotta]

I wonder if he had a vehicle, but not necessarily a car? A bike would be easy enough to tuck away on a quiet side street, for instance

Isn't it strange that nobody has tipped LE about this attacker?

Using a bike
would mean this person is local.

And the entire local community is worried and on edge.

Considering how characteristic this person is
there must be a lot of people to recognize the attacker.

In a community paying close attention to information/videos/photos given by authorities.

Is this person really local?

JMO

ETA
Oooops!
It seems there are hundreds of tips according to CNN.

Fingers

 

[Megnut]

Posting this very short video from GHI. 12m

The "BREAKING! 2 suspects" is just his take on things. But he zeroes in on the footage with running.

 

[justtrish]

I wonder if he had a vehicle, but not necessarily a car? A bike would be easy enough to tuck away on a quiet side street, for instance

Something I noticed when I did a street view walk of the area is there are those pay as you go scooters there on one of the corners. I think if he got on one, he would likely show up on camera on it, but I did find it interesting they were there. Not sure how that works, but it seems those would be traceable if you have a card that prepays or if you use a card to unlock them.

 

[Dotta]

Wow!

"Hundreds of tips,
DNA swabs and new video:
Inside Day 4 of the Brown University manhunt.

The collection of DNA samples
may suggest investigators believe they recovered DNA at the scene,
perhaps from an item thought to be discarded by the suspect
or something they touched.

That would also suggest that the DNA is not in the national DNA criminal database, CODIS,
or investigators would have already established the shooter’s identity."

https://edition.cnn.com/us/live-news/brown-university-shooting-12-16-25

 

[Megnut]

Wow!

"The collection of DNA samples
may suggest investigators believe they recovered DNA at the scene,
perhaps from an item thought to be discarded by the suspect
or something they touched.

That would also suggest that the DNA is not in the national DNA criminal database, CODIS,
or investigators would have already established the shooter’s identity."

https://edition.cnn.com/us/live-news/brown-university-shooting-12-16-25

Perhaps from the shell casings.

That would be huge. Bring on genetic genealogy!

JMO

 

[Inthedetails]

Wow!

"Hundreds of tips,
DNA swabs and new video:
Inside Day 4 of the Brown University manhunt.

The collection of DNA samples
may suggest investigators believe they recovered DNA at the scene,
perhaps from an item thought to be discarded by the suspect
or something they touched.

That would also suggest that the DNA is not in the national DNA criminal database, CODIS,
or investigators would have already established the shooter’s identity."

https://edition.cnn.com/us/live-news/brown-university-shooting-12-16-25

This is a great news.

I am baffled by this perp. To me, the videos look like he is killing time and/or watching for someone specifically. Did he follow someone into the building? The idea that he had delusions and thought he was following someone is also an idea to consider.

I remain on the Fence of No Theory at the moment, and seat up here is big and sturdy, not leaning in any direction.

jmo