Providence, Rhode Island, elected officials, Brown University leadership, and local and federal law enforcement held a press briefing on the search for a shooter who killed two students and injured several others at Brown University. University officials said they are "cooperating 100% with law enforcement" in regard to turning over any evidence - amid questions and concerns about cameras, student rosters, and other evidence from the university. In addition, law enforcement shared pictures of an additional person of interest, as well as an updated perimeter map, and asked for residents in that perimeter to check their cameras for any helpful information
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#BrownUniversityShooting #BrownUniversity #BrownShooting #BrownUniversityUpdate #BrownUniversityLive #BrownUniversityNews #ActiveShooter #UniversityShooting #CampusAlert #IvyLeagueNews #ProvidenceNews #BreakingNews #CampusLockdown #ShooterSearch #USMassShooting #CollegeCampus #EmergencyAlert #UniversitySafety #ShootingUpdate #LiveUpdates
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NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome back to our daily briefing. I want to start by just acknowledging how the residents of Providence and the students and campus community at Brown are still feeling restless and eager for an arrest.
00:16And we understand and share that feeling. We are also eager for an arrest. The investigation is well underway and we'll hear an update in just a second from Colonel Perez and Attorney General Narona.
00:28But I want to re-emphasize that in the Providence community and with the Governor's help, really in the broader Providence community, we have tightened security and we have neighbors looking out for one another and we will get through this.
00:44I know our city and we are a resilient community and we are a city that will support one another as we move forward in this scary time.
00:54Just because you're feeling unsafe doesn't mean that that's invalid. We know that that's real.
01:00But we are doing everything we can to both advance this investigation but also to provide the support necessary as we move forward and take the first steps together that we need to, as a city,
01:12to start to recognize that kids need to go to school and people need to go to work and we appreciate the courage and sometimes even tentative steps forward that we're taking as we start to move forward as a community.
01:30At this time, I'd like to introduce Colonel Oscar Perez, who will give an update on the investigation. Thank you.
01:40Thank you, Mayor. Good afternoon.
01:42If we can please show the photo that we released earlier today.
01:45Okay.
01:45So we have released this enhanced photo earlier today.
02:14And I want to be clear that this is a person that we would like to speak with.
02:18We truly believe, based on the video footage that we have been watching for a few days, they may have relevant information to the investigation.
02:26So we're asking the public that you can help us identify who this individual is, as well if the individual themselves sees their picture, please contact the police department.
02:35As far as the one thing that I want to mention, I want to urge you, the public, not to rely on or circulate AI-generated images that are currently being shared on social media, as they're not verified or credible.
02:53As well, the updates and information that you're getting will be provided exclusively through this department's official channels.
03:00I want to make sure that we make that happen.
03:02And please notify the public to make sure that that occurs.
03:06I will also like to clarify and show a map.
03:09Please, if you can play the map.
03:19So the map here that you see is actually a map of the area that we have been intensively walking on those streets, canvassing the area.
03:27So as you see the blue image, yesterday I mentioned that we need the public's assistance to check the camera assistance or any sort of video that you may have that could be helpful to us, that you, as you're watching it or as you're reviewing it, you feel there may be something that we can use, please notify us.
03:43And if you need any help with that, viewing those videos, please also call us.
03:48We can come over and help you.
03:49The green area that's color, that's when we have confirmed where the subject was prior to the shooting.
03:56The red areas, we have also confirmed that that's the immediate area where he left after the shooting.
04:03And so this is the map that actually we have so far.
04:06We've walked it all.
04:07We're still actively investigating and we're still actively having agents, Providence police officers, members of the state police.
04:15There is about nine federal agencies that are assisting us with this investigation, adding the state police as well as the Providence police and other municipalities.
04:24Again, I would like to reiterate, if you have any tips, please call the 272-3-121 or the FBI link at FBI.gov backslash Brown University shooting.
04:36Attorney General Peter Nerono for an update.
04:41Attorney General Peter Nerono for an update.
04:44Okay.
04:45Thank you, General.
04:48One additional update from me and then we'll be happy to take your questions.
04:58First, I want to just take a moment to recognize and honor the memory of Ella Cook and Muhammad Aziz Umrzikov, who are the two deceased victims from this tragedy, and update you on the status of the survivors.
05:20Yesterday, we mentioned that one individual had been discharged.
05:24I'm happy to report that another individual has been discharged today.
05:29That leaves one survivor in critical but stable condition and five in stable conditions.
05:37The parents that I spoke with today all reported that their kids were improving.
05:43So this is a happy announcement.
05:46But I know the entire Providence community, the entire state of Rhode Island, the governor and I were together at a memorial service last night, mourn the loss and offer our most sincere condolences to the Cook and Umrzikov families.
06:02Following up on a note that the Colonel made with respect to AI-generated images and other misinformation, we have created an online folder with all of the video and images that have been released.
06:21And we encourage both members of the press but also members of the community.
06:27We know lots of people are sharing information and we appreciate that.
06:30We think that will help with this investigation.
06:32But we encourage them to download and share the videos and photos from the website that has been created so that you can ensure that you're sharing an accurate and verified photo and video.
06:46That website is now live.
06:47It is ProvidenceRI.gov backslash tips, T-I-P-S.
06:53ProvidenceRI.gov backslash tips is an online file folder that has the videos and photos that have been released to date and it will be updated as we progress.
07:05There's been lots of conversation up here about the heroic work of the hundreds of law enforcement professionals who remain hard at work 24 hours a day and who are in fact making progress.
07:19I want to close with one additional thank you tonight.
07:23All of those tip line calls are coming into the city's telecommunications department, the same folks who answer the 911 calls, and they too have been working tirelessly.
07:33And I want to thank the men and women at dispatch and at telecommunications for their diligence.
07:40Everyone in the city of Providence truly has a role to play in this investigation and we're grateful for their assistance.
07:46We'll take your questions.
07:47John.
07:48I have a question for Colonel.
07:49As he's walking around, I want to establish actually, what's the earliest that this person of interest emerges?
08:03I believe you had said Saturday morning at 10.30, but then someone else said maybe a couple days earlier.
08:09And I recognize that it fluctuates and this is evolving.
08:12But as of right now, what's the earliest that this individual, to your knowledge, shows up on a camera?
08:18About 10.30 a.m. on the date of the tragic incident.
08:22However, it's like anything else.
08:23I also mentioned yesterday that they do case the areas.
08:26They do a lot of prior check-in for their crime.
08:29And so we believe, we truly believe that it could be that possibly who's there prior as well.
08:34And so we want to make sure that we don't miss anything.
08:36And so that's why we're asking the public to help us to ensure within that map area that I mentioned,
08:40with the borders between Wicked and Brook, all those areas, Gano, that if you have a camera system to reach out to us.
08:48I was in the lawn, I Street, Gano today.
08:52Tremendous number of federal officials literally going door to door.
08:57Would you say just how would you describe it?
08:59I mean, it just seems that this is probably right now the most massive, intensive manhunt going on in the world.
09:06I think I agree with you on that, John.
09:08And I definitely commend the men of the men, women, obviously, and all our federal partners.
09:13It's a lot of work and it's intense, as you stated.
09:16It takes a lot to be able to knock on doors, see these videos, these terabytes of videos that you have to look.
09:22I mentioned it yesterday.
09:23We're looking for a moment that takes almost less than a second.
09:26And if you miss it, you're missing something that could be critical and important for us to use.
09:30And so, yes, it's definitely intense.
09:31And I believe that it's probably the most intense investigation going on right now in this nation.
09:36So, you know, the second person that you want to talk to, can you drill down at all on any interactions that you believe you may have had with the main person of interest?
09:44Did you believe he talked to him?
09:46How close was he to him?
09:47Any interactions?
09:48What can you tell them?
09:49So, yeah.
09:50We have video footage of the determinants to us and the detectives that can tell that this person was in the vicinity where the subject of interest was that we actually have an interest on.
10:01Close.
10:02Close.
10:03Close enough that we feel that we need to speak with them to find out what they – because videos don't speak.
10:07If you think about it, I wish the video could speak and then I'll have the answers that we need to so that we can continue on this investigation.
10:13So we're trying to find out exactly what it is and that's why we need to speak with them.
10:17Please.
10:18Does this person, this new individual, have anything to do with why the person of interest was seen running in the surveillance footage?
10:26Again, I wish the videos could speak.
10:27We're trying to get those answers.
10:29And have you found any items of interest during your search, specifically clothing?
10:35Nothing as we speak, no.
10:38Up front here.
10:39Who among law enforcement or other first responders was first on the scene that day and who came next?
10:47So Brown University was on scene and then immediately the Providence Police Department of the Minutes was there.
10:52Back there.
10:53The green jacket.
10:54Previously released a video from 2-16 on the day of the shooting where we see the person of interest coming to contact or near another person.
11:02Is that the moment that you think this new person and the person of interest might have come close?
11:07That's correct.
11:08That's around the area of Benevolent and Cook.
11:11So behind the Rhode Island Historical Society, that corner of Georgia?
11:14Right near that area, correct.
11:16And you had some searches going on in North Meadowboro today.
11:19Is that connected at all to this case?
11:21I can't confirm.
11:22We're all over the place.
11:23If a tip comes in and he needs us to go down to Connecticut, we're going down to Connecticut.
11:27If a tip comes in and tells us that we've got to go to Boston, we're going to Boston.
11:30Right there in the middle of the green jacket.
11:31Go ahead.
11:32Is it possible that the second person could become a person of interest?
11:35All we know is that that person was in the vicinity of the subject that we have an interest on and we want to speak with them.
11:42Okay.
11:43Missing.
11:44Right.
11:45Yes.
11:46So pretty much the question is if we can explain in Spanish exactly why we're looking for this individual, why do we want to speak with them?
12:00So this person is really someone who is interested in talking with them because he was in the area in the immediate area where this individual was.
12:08So we want to know more about why he was there to explain the reason and what interaction there was.
12:13So we have found a lot of evidence that we need when we use and utilize them to hopefully guide us in the right direction in order to identify the individual that we're looking for.
12:38And you've got the DNA evidence?
12:41There's actual physical evidence, there's DNA evidence, there's a lot of evidence that we're collecting to ensure that we can find the answer.
12:48Pat.
12:49I have a question for Attorney General Nerona.
12:52My understanding from your conversations over the last few days is that the Attorney General's office is taking the lead in terms of doing the investigation.
13:00My question is what's the relationship between the Attorney General's office and the Rhode Island State Police that we haven't heard much from over the last few days in terms of who's doing what and what type of time commitment?
13:12And I do have a follow up.
13:13Yeah.
13:14I wouldn't say that we're leading it.
13:15I think that we are working closely with our law enforcement investigators.
13:21So you divide, I think you can divide in a case like this, the people involved into groups.
13:30So there are at least five prosecutors that have been here since Saturday night.
13:35I've been here for a fair chunk of it myself, particularly after hours back at the office.
13:40But what those prosecutors are doing, Pat, is asking questions, helping to narrow and inform factual inquiries.
13:55Certainly when there's a question, all right, do we have enough to get a search warrant for a house or a car or a buckle swab from a person of interest?
14:04They're informing that.
14:05So in any complex investigation, both federally and stateside, prosecutors are embedded with the investigative team.
14:14And we bring our own heads to the investigation because we have been involved in writing search warrant affidavits and arrest warrant affidavits and wiretaps for years.
14:25And the Rhode Island State Police, what kind of role have they played in terms of investigating?
14:30And I still have a little quick one.
14:32The Colonel can answer that, but before you do, Colonel, I just want to make sure that I answer it as well.
14:36One of the images that I have most keenly in my mind from a couple nights ago is a state police lieutenant, Derek Melfi, talking to John Permiano of the Providence Police,
14:50talking to Colin Woods of the FBI and identifying a certain piece of video evidence that's important to this investigation.
14:57And that's how intertwined and cohesive it is while prosecutors look on and engage at the same time.
15:07So I addressed this question a couple of days ago.
15:09So this is a very collaborative effort between all law enforcement, between the Providence Police, the State Police, all of our federal partners.
15:18We will continue to develop leads and follow that with the evidence that comes along with that until this perpetrator is apprehended.
15:27Thank you. And one quick follow up for the gentleman from Brown University.
15:30Can you say for the record and with the police certainty that every bit of digital mass surveillance,
15:42whatever type of evidence was collected by the infrastructure of Brown University has been turned over to the Providence Police Department,
15:52as well as the Attorney General. Is the Brown University withholding anything, for the record?
15:58For the record, we are cooperating 100% with law enforcement. We are turning over everything we have to assist in this investigation.
16:05And you have a map and they are fully aware of whatever surveillance is being taken?
16:10All materials are being provided to law enforcement.
16:13Let's have time.
16:14Mayor, thank you very much.
16:15Regarding the new person of interest video, who may have had contact with the primary person?
16:23Does law enforcement not have the capability to identify and find someone when you have, like, full face recognition
16:29without exposing them to public screening?
16:32Can I have a follow up?
16:34Yeah, definitely. I mean, it's something where you have to investigate.
16:37If you don't know who that person is, it's very difficult, and especially if the image is blurred,
16:41it's very difficult to identify them. And so if we had that availability to be able to identify them
16:46without the assistance of the public, we would. So at this point, we do not.
16:49And that's why we're putting it out to the public to assist us in identifying who this person is.
16:53And then, with this person of interest that you're looking at today, or the subject that you released today,
16:59are we sure it's a man? I know it was brought up in the question before, it could be a man.
17:04But are we 100% sure it's a man, or could it be a woman as well?
17:08It's a person that we would like to at least speak with.
17:11But, you know, there's no giving a gender at this time?
17:13No, there isn't.
17:14Colonel, there's a black satchel that the person, the main person of interest was carrying.
17:19Some images he has seen with it, some images he has seen without it.
17:24Sorry, ma'am.
17:25Have you recovered that black satchel?
17:27Do you know, can you tell us what he was wearing that you stepped over short?
17:30Yes.
17:31Was he wearing it before the shooting, after the shooting?
17:33He's wearing it at times, definitely on and off.
17:35And I think I addressed that yesterday.
17:37Obviously that we see him in the video with it, and then at times we don't see him, just like you stated.
17:41So we're assuming that he actually hid it under the coat that he was wearing, but we don't have it, no.
17:48Patrick.
17:49Upper Colonel Perez.
17:50Yes.
17:51The map that you showed, it looks like the perimeter has moved south into the Fox Point area from the immediate places where we've seen video footage.
18:00Can you tell me why the level of interest has moved south of the shooting site and into the Fox Point area?
18:10Is there video footage?
18:11Is there additional evidence that points towards that area?
18:14I mean, this investigation is intensive, so we're following.
18:17We're following his path.
18:19And again, the last place we saw him was right at Ives near Pittman.
18:23And so that's sort of south, and we're going to continue to check, but that's the last place that we saw him.
18:27That's why we moved south, and we may continue to move.
18:30It all depends.
18:31We want to see as far as we can, how far we can go to identify him.
18:35Are there any other sightings or anything else down by, I mean, that you've extended all the way to, like, Wickenden, where we don't have any...
18:42Correct.
18:43We're at Ives and Pittman right now, but potentially could lead us further down.
18:46It could lead us further down to Butler or it could lead us further down south.
18:49So we just want to make sure we cover enough.
18:50Steve.
18:51Carl, did you now explain to us five days later how many students were in that classroom?
18:56Sadly, two lost their lives.
18:58Nine others were encouraged about the update today.
19:01But can you now say how many kids were in that classroom, and did the gunman come in from the back so these people never knew it was coming?
19:09Or did he come in front with full view of everybody?
19:13That's all part of the interviews, and actually cooperating with Brown to get the roster.
19:17That was a study hall, so we don't have the number.
19:19We're still getting information as far as who was there.
19:22I know Brown sent out an email to the students to notify us if they were present, and we're still getting that.
19:28So I can't give you an exact account now.
19:31Okay, and then just a follow-up.
19:32You did say that you lost sight of a gunman at some specific road outside of your perimeter.
19:37What happened?
19:38No, it's within the perimeter, Steve.
19:39Yeah.
19:40Right.
19:41And then what happened with him after that?
19:42There's no video of where he could have gone from there?
19:45We're still out there as we speak.
19:46There's people out there.
19:47There's detectives out there.
19:48There's task force officers.
19:49We're trying to figure out what are the locations we can find, but we haven't found anything else.
19:53But we're knocking on doors and making sure, and that's why I'm putting out the call to the public to assist us.
19:58If you happen to be within that box that borders exactly where we want you to look, then that's exactly why we're here.
20:04Second round.
20:05Yeah.
20:06Inside the classroom, you've done your interviews.
20:09You're continuing to do your interviews.
20:10The description that eyewitnesses are giving, does it match the primary person of interest?
20:15And what can you say more about the weapon?
20:17We know that the TA said that he saw a gun that was so big and so long.
20:21Is it possible at this point that the gunman had multiple weapons?
20:25Can you square that for us?
20:26Yeah, there's definitely, the interviews are definitely telling us that that's the description that we have.
20:31And yes, they're describing the weapon.
20:33Some people obviously can think it was chaos.
20:35And so we're definitely getting some info as far as what the weapon looked like and exactly what was going on in that room.
20:42We don't think there's multiple weapons?
20:43No, just that individual.
20:45I just want to jump in here too because, you know, you mentioned a long gun.
20:51I don't, we're not, we are not in a position to say, unless the chief, you want to square it, whether this was a long gun or not.
21:01I think that there have been an account, there's been an account from the TA.
21:05There are multiple accounts about multiple things, including how this gunman approached the victims.
21:10Those are not details that advance the investigation.
21:12Why not?
21:13They don't advance the investigation because as we interview witnesses, we don't want them to learn facts from these press conferences.
21:20We want them to relay the facts that they have in their heads, including a person of interest.
21:25So we don't want a person of interest to shape what they're telling us based on what we know as expressed to you about those kinds of details, sir, that you asked.
21:34So we're being careful about the facts that we're sharing for that reason, so that when we talk to witnesses, what we're getting is their factual recitation.
21:43And as you might imagine, in a situation where there is chaos, and look, people are ducking for cover as well they should have, you are going to get different accounts.
21:55And part of what's going on now is reconciling those accounts.
21:58And I don't know, Chief, if you want to weigh in more about the weapon, but I don't want anyone to leave this room thinking that this weapon was a long gun, because that would be a misperception from what I know.
22:10Alex.
22:11In the video released yesterday, it appears that the person of interest is going by a police cruiser that has its lights on.
22:20Does that mean that the dash cam in that cruiser was on and activated?
22:24And have police been able to recover anything you stole from that video?
22:27So that was a brown police cruiser, and I'm not sure if they have body cameras in their cruisers.
22:32I don't think they do.
22:33Dash cam, no.
22:34Dash cam, no.
22:35Okay.
22:36And then my next follow-up question would be, are you working with flock camera experts to try and recover anything from those cameras?
22:47So as you know, we work with flock, we have LPRs in the city, and we utilize in every resource we can.
22:52Yes, Alex.
22:53Brian.
22:54Colonel, you mentioned there is other evidence, but at this point, how much of this investigation churns on the public identifying who's in those images?
23:02And are you discouraged or surprised that after a couple days of it being out there, you haven't gotten to anything more concrete?
23:07No, I think this is, like I said earlier, it's a very intense investigation, and I think it's going to take public assistance.
23:14It's actually going to take, obviously, 21st century policing involving technology, but it's also going to take good old-fashioned police work,
23:21which is knocking on doors, retrieving evidence, going through yards, talking to witnesses.
23:27It's going to take all that and more, Brian.
23:29And no one's discouraged.
23:31I mean, I've been in that command post.
23:32No one's discouraged.
23:33I mean, leads are coming in, they're being run to ground, and no one's discouraged.
23:37Oh, sure.
23:38Yeah.
23:39Yeah, I mean, I've been in the command post, as the Colonel has, and no one's discouraged.
23:44I mean, I get, when I'm not there, I get hourly reports from my own team, and there's an enormous amount of energy for people who have been working as hard as they have been.
23:56I'm really quite impressed by that, frankly.
23:59And there's no discouragement among people who understand that not every case is a case that can be solved quickly.
24:09In my view, they get solved.
24:10It's just a matter of time.
24:11In this case, we'll get solved, too.
24:13Would you have a message or an appeal to the shooter or anybody who may think they know who they are, who may be on the fence?
24:21Well, look, certainly it would behoove everyone, including the shooter, to provide information to law enforcement and to the shooter to turn himself in.
24:31He will be caught, and it's just a matter of time before we catch him.
24:35And I believe that based on my experience, but also from watching the people in that command post and getting reports from where they're coming back out in the field.
24:47They know what they're doing.
24:48They're experienced.
24:49They're working hard.
24:50There's no lack of resources.
24:51Everyone's working really well together, and we're going to crack this case, and when we crack it, it's going to come open really quickly.
24:59Straight back from the bus.
25:01For you, Mayor, have you spoken with local business owners about how much this is impacting their bottom line, especially during the holiday season, and any concerns that they might have about the situation?
25:09Yeah, I have.
25:11It's hard work being a small business owner, and this time of year is critical to them.
25:18There's a commercial district just off campus called Thayer Street.
25:22Those businesses are particularly struggling as both students went home early and some people are avoiding the area.
25:29Similarly, there's a couple other commercial districts nearby the area, which is Wickenden Street, as has been discussed here tonight, and Wayland Square.
25:37The city's Department of Economic Development, in partnership with the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, is reaching out to those business owners to look at assistance programs,
25:47or otherwise try to support them to ensure that their businesses can stay healthy and vibrant through this.
25:53Do you know when those might be in effect?
25:55Those conversations started yesterday, and so we're working with the various merchants associations to try to determine what sort of assistance might be most helpful, and when it's ready to announce, we will.
26:05Thanks.
26:06Please.
26:07My question is for the colonel.
26:09So looking at this new map, there's no video so far of him before than there is after the shooting.
26:14Do you think that the person may transport the vehicle somewhere in this area, and are you going to go through license plate readers?
26:20Absolutely.
26:21Yeah, we're looking for that evidence.
26:22If there was any vehicles involved, and yes, you're right.
26:25He was there earlier, and so that's why we're looking at that as well, and definitely we use, and I mentioned that earlier, the LPRs, the flock, any cameras.
26:32That's why we're making a call out to the public to assist us with that.
26:35And so part of those resources that we're going to need, as the general stated, to make that apprehension.
26:41Dan.
26:42I have a question and a follow-up first for the Attorney General.
26:45Attorney General Dan Janik, NBC10.
26:47Hi, Dan.
26:48You had said the other day that you released the person of interest because the DNA didn't match, which would assume that there was DNA of the person of interest in that room.
26:59Can you tell us what it was, and if he hasn't committed a crime before, how it makes it a little bit more difficult?
27:04Yeah, so DNA, when it's entered into a nationwide system, can confirm the identity of a suspect or a subject.
27:14And certainly the advantage here is that when we find a person of interest and we can get a search warrant for what we call a buckleswild, we can compare that to a known quantum of evidence.
27:27That can rule people in and obviously can rule people out.
27:31That's a powerful piece of evidence.
27:33But it's not the only evidence.
27:34And to the – and relatedly to the question about, you know, do we need only the public, the public is going to really help us here by identifying this person.
27:43But at the same time, there are other leads coming in through other forms of electronic and other evidence that are taking teams, teams, multiple teams out in different directions.
27:53And we're able through a variety of means, not just DNA evidence, to rule people in or rule people out.
28:00And it's a combination of really impressive work by, you know, vector experts in various forms of modern law enforcement techniques.
28:11I have a second question.
28:12I have a second question.
28:13Andrew Brown.
28:14Sir, I ask this question out of deep respect, but I ask it for a lot of parents who are frustrated who have reached out to me, so please keep that in mind.
28:24And they want to know how a school with a $9 billion endowment does not have cameras on one of the older buildings at the edge of the camera – edge of the campus where this happened.
28:34Not even in the front door.
28:36Who's coming and going?
28:38Now, they ask this question knowing that the shooter may have done whatever you wanted, but the cameras, A, would have deterred or, B, captured a better look at them and we wouldn't be here today five days out.
28:50I want you to explain that because there's a lot of parents who are wondering, where are you investing your money?
28:55Yeah, I appreciate that question.
28:57And I want to reiterate, as our president did, that supporting our students and communicating to the parents, to our community about our support is of utmost importance.
29:07We have 1,200 cameras located throughout the campus.
29:11We don't publish the locations of the cameras.
29:14That would give a map to somebody to evade detection on the cameras.
29:18So that would be counterproductive to do that.
29:20There are cameras in this building.
29:22And as I answered the previous question, we have turned over all evidence that we are holding at Brown to law enforcement and are cooperating fully with them.
29:30So you're saying that there's cameras in the building.
29:33I was told yesterday there wasn't cameras in the building.
29:35The Attorney General said old building, no cameras attached to a new building with cameras.
29:40I believe he said that there were two different phases of the building that might have two different levels of technology.
29:45Again, all video imagery has been turned over to law enforcement.
29:49That doesn't make sense.
29:50Amanda, hold on.
29:51I just want to say that.
29:52Okay.
29:53I have a question for the Chief and a question for the FBI.
29:56Hey, Chief.
29:57Chief, how you doing, Amanda?
29:58So, looking at this person of interest and from witness descriptions, it appears that this person had a genuine familiarity with Brown, possibly with that building as well.
30:11Have you, in questioning people, have you eliminated, questioned or eliminated any Brown employees, current, former, disgruntled, facing discipline, any type of complaints?
30:21Yeah, at this point it's unknown to us.
30:23I think that the investigation is on.
30:25But it's unknown to us where this person works.
30:28It's unknown to us if he was an affiliate of Brown.
30:30That's all unknown to us.
30:32What we have is the image that we've been releasing and informed you all about it.
30:36And so we're hoping to get those answers eventually who that person is or what their background is.
30:40Okay.
30:41Any questions?
30:42I'll ask for the FBI, please.
30:43Oh, sorry.
30:44Yes.
30:45I understand that the FBI has doing tower dumps of cell phone data.
30:52And I'm not sure if this is also happening, but if you're also checking the MAC addresses of any phones related to any of the Wi-Fi at residences or Brown University as well.
31:04If so, how long does it take to get that information?
31:07Have you even received any preliminary information that is helping you narrow down any potential persons of interest?
31:16I will say that I don't want to get into the specifics of the techniques that we use investigatively, but I will say that we are using every resource that we have to find this subject and bring them to justice.
31:29But when it comes to cell phone data, how long does it take to get that information?
31:33Will it be getting weeks, months?
31:35I will say that it varies as it relates to getting that type of data.
31:39I will say that everything that we're doing is getting expedited based on the gravity of what has happened here at Brown University.
31:46Right next, sir.
31:47Have you recovered any physical evidence during these recent searches and possibly including a gun magazine?
31:56So we have done extensive searches both inside the location as well as outside.
32:02Yes, we have seized and found physical evidence.
32:06And so has that included a gun magazine?
32:08We have found physical evidence.
32:10Can you say where?
32:11I'm not going to confirm.
32:12I'm sorry?
32:13Yeah.
32:14Please.
32:15Colonel, you know, for the past couple of days we have zeroed in on this particular person of interest.
32:19Can you kind of help remind us about why you believe this is someone who possibly could be either the shooter or a suspect?
32:27And you've been very careful not to say a suspect.
32:30You've said person of interest, but this is the only video.
32:33Can you help remind us about why you believe this is the person not looking for others?
32:37We have enough evidence, I think, that's taken us to that level to identify this individual or someone who was there immediately after, before a case in the area.
32:46There's enough for us to believe that's definitely a subject of interest based on descriptions, based on statements.
32:52And so that's the reason we're calling them a subject of interest, just to ensure that we have enough, and once we identify them, to be able to take the next step.
33:00A quick follow.
33:01You were clear not to use gender with the person in proximity to the person of interest, but you have been using male pronouns in describing this person as a man.
33:10And for this particular person of interest, we can say for sure you believe that we are looking for a man with a person of interest?
33:17Correct.
33:18In the back there.
33:19At this point, and this is for the FBI, at this point, this person could be anywhere, right?
33:24Item 5 runs right through the state.
33:26So how are you coordinating with other states to determine whether this person of interest could be elsewhere?
33:31Well, that's a great question.
33:33Through all of our field offices, we have 56 field offices throughout the United States, as well as legats abroad.
33:39And so the information that we have, once it goes into our data systems, we are sharing that information real time with all of our FBI field offices and the partners as well.
33:48And so that is a way in which we're making sure that whether that subject has left the state or even left the country, that we are using that full reach of the federal arm to track that individual down.
33:59And a follow up real quick for one of you.
34:02I understand that Brown has 1,200 cameras.
34:05Why?
34:06And those images have been handed over to the investigation.
34:09Why have we not seen any of this footage?
34:13Wouldn't it help if the media or if the general public saw people walking through campus and just to get angles?
34:20Yeah.
34:21I mean, you know, my answer to that is footage of students running from the scene doesn't help advance identifying this person.
34:32or this investigation.
34:33Walking in?
34:34And walking into the building?
34:36No, not him.
34:37I'm talking about video footage of students that were not harmed.
34:42Other students hearing shots running through a different part of the building.
34:46We have video footage of that.
34:48That doesn't help us identify this individual.
34:51And with respect to Attorney General, I think we can agree that maybe, you know, within the 24 hours ahead of that time,
34:57there is a lot of footage that could be gone through all those 1,200 cameras that you say there are in the school.
35:06Why hasn't that just been released to the public?
35:08Well, let me play devil's advocate.
35:10Would you like all of it?
35:11Why not?
35:12Well, because here's why.
35:13Because it doesn't tell us anything about who committed this crime yet.
35:17If we get a better image of who committed this crime, you'll have it.
35:22There is no effort to preclude the public, online investigators, investigators in the press, from getting to the result faster than we can.
35:31If you can identify this person faster than we can, have at it.
35:35But we are giving you the best evidence we can to identify this person.
35:39The FBI, with respect, cannot find a person we have not identified yet.
35:43The way we identify them is to focus on this person, exhaust our investigative resources to pull videotape so that we can get an image out there that the public may be able to identify.
35:56At the same time, exploiting other evidence to try to track this person in different ways, which has been going on for the last 72 hours.
36:05So, what does that look like?
36:07What that looks like is information comes in.
36:09It could come in from the tip line.
36:11The team runs it to ground.
36:13They rely on other evidence.
36:14The clock cameras that the colonel referenced.
36:17Other electronic data that Amanda's referring to.
36:20And you can rule that person in or out.
36:23When that person is ruled out, you move on to the next one.
36:26The way the public helps us now is to help us identify this person.
36:31Okay?
36:32But that's not the exclusive way we're going at it.
36:34But it does not advance our investigation to have reams of data out there that don't help identify the shooter.
36:41And we're confident of that.
36:43My follow-up question just to that was as well.
36:45Is, you know, we speak a lot about the public helping as well.
36:49And we know that, you know, the FBI is involved.
36:52But five days, a person can get very far in five days.
36:56What other state police departments are holding you with this?
37:00And do you have any indication where, how far this person may have gotten in this time?
37:05Go ahead.
37:06I got it.
37:07But, so pretty much it's a great point.
37:09And that's something that we're considering.
37:10Obviously, he could be anywhere.
37:12You're right.
37:13And I think the fact that we're all here in this room and we're in the info and he's being spread out through this nation.
37:18I would hope.
37:19I'm speaking to different chiefs.
37:20I've had the privilege to know a lot of them.
37:22We're exchanging info as we speak.
37:23We don't know.
37:24But we still don't know where the person is or who he is.
37:26Right?
37:27And so we're going to continue to view, review, and then send out.
37:32And I just want to touch on that question because you do make a good point.
37:35If there's 1,200 cameras, right, how come we not see it at all?
37:38But at the end of the day, we're looking at key evidence, key video evidence to send out.
37:42It makes no sense to re-victimize students who went through that.
37:47That's not my job.
37:48And my responsibility is to ensure that people are safe.
37:51It's no different than I'm asking the public to provide me with video footage for weeks.
37:56I don't want to know what's going on in their homes for weeks.
37:59I want to know if they can see a piece of evidence that is going to be helpful for us to progress in this investigation.
38:05What do you know about the level of public access to Darius and Holly?
38:09Is this a door that somebody from the public computer would have been able to walk in?
38:13Or is this a place where you would have been, like, swiped access to get in?
38:18Certainly.
38:20Thanks for that question.
38:21Brown is no different than most colleges and universities, that during daytime hours,
38:26there's open access to academic spaces.
38:29So that's, and that was the case on the day of the event.
38:34Phil.
38:35Question for Brown.
38:37There are some buildings on campus that have what may be private or non-police security guards posted at the front entrance.
38:50Was there a security guard ever posted at the engineering building entrance?
38:55If so, were they there that day, and whether they do, and if not, why not?
39:01So maybe I'll ask our chief of police to speak to that.
39:06On that day, we did not have, and do not have, a security asset posted inside the building.
39:13Is that atypical of a Saturday or in that particular building?
39:18How do you determine where security is posted, and is that under the purview of Brown police?
39:23That is, and that is typical for that academic space.
39:26That there would not be a security personnel?
39:28Correct.
39:29That's right.
39:30There you go.
39:31One for the Colonel and one for you, Mr. Mayor.
39:33As far as the investigation goes, any updates on a possible motive here?
39:38And for the mayor, while I have you, we're getting towards Christmas time.
39:42Obviously, the suspect can get lost in different places, not just on campus there.
39:46What is your message to people coming into this area, seeing family who are concerned that this guy is still out?
39:51Yeah, so the motive is unknown at this time.
39:56As we're, what are we, a week away from Christmas now?
40:03This only emphasizes the question that I think everyone's been asking, which is, are we safe in Providence right now?
40:14Which, honestly, is the hardest question that I keep getting asked.
40:18And whether it's the holidays or not, but with the holidays, we expect even more people to want to come home and celebrate with family and share the traditions that, you know, are seared in all of our brains of holidays with our parents and loved ones.
40:36We can't lock down the city indefinitely.
40:41We can't.
40:43And I know this city.
40:45I know.
40:46I know that they are tough.
40:47I know that they are resilient.
40:49I know that they have faced scary times before.
40:52And so we are doing everything possible to provide extra law enforcement, extra visibility, things to reassure confidence at a scary time.
41:08And it is a scary time here in the city.
41:12That's true at Christmas time.
41:14That was true when this started on Sunday morning, the first morning after.
41:19And so we are doing everything possible, but obviously families are going to have to have a conversation about what's right and what's best.
41:30But they should know that their city government is doing everything they know how.
41:36And thanks to the help of our friends, the governor and the Rhode Island State Police, our neighboring communities here in Rhode Island.
41:43For those of you who aren't from Rhode Island, this is a tight knit place.
41:46And we have police officers from every corner of Rhode Island helping out in Providence right now.
41:52And so we are doing everything we can to reassure folks, to provide comfort, particularly as we expect will be even busier a week from now.
42:04And that is the best honest answer that I can give to that very difficult question.
42:09Please.
42:10This question is for the Colonel.
42:12I know you've been interviewing survivors, specifically survivors that were in that classroom where the shooting took place.
42:19Have any of those survivors described the person of interest as the shooter?
42:25And or have they given a physical description of the shooter that is similar to the person of interest that we've been shown?
42:32That's correct.
42:33Yes, they have.
42:34Yes, they have.
42:35They have.
42:36Yes.
42:37Can you tell us some of the actionable tips you've received at this point?
42:39Happy to see Steve Klanskin.
42:40Thanks very much.
42:41And I have a hard question both for Colonel Perez and Mr. Doxler.
42:46As you've expanded the area that you've appealed to people who may have cameras within about an 80 block area,
42:56is it fair to say that the calls of people with cameras have tailed off, that you've gotten about all you can get?
43:05No, we're still getting info.
43:08We're still getting calls and we're doing a lot of knocking on doors.
43:10And it's been extremely helpful.
43:11So no, we're not, we're not done.
43:12We're going to continue to expand.
43:13And we get calls and sometimes just knocking on doors alone is providing us that evidence.
43:17And notwithstanding the fact that the FBI issues the bulletin to all of its field offices and so forth, is it fair to say that until and unless you get a picture of this guy stepping into a car, basically starting from square one, you don't really have a sense of who he is, where he's going and how he's getting there.
43:40I would say, as it relates to the FBI as well as our partners here, any information that comes in, that has not tailed off at all.
43:48And I would say one thing that remains constant is we will always need the public's assistance in anything that we do, no matter what you guys may see on TV, we will always need the public's assistance.
43:58I say as it relates to that, any tip that comes in, the information that we get, we're able to aggregate that and push out, not only to make links with other FBI field offices, so in a way in which we can follow that lead all the way to ground.
44:11And so the information that is coming in, we are pushing that out throughout our field offices, throughout our partnerships, into that community, and then we get it back as well.
44:21That's helping us to cross off leads in which are not valid and then to push on leads that are valid as well.
44:28But without that, I don't know if it's a video or something that shows him stepping into a car and you get a plate or something along those lines, it makes your job that much more difficult.
44:40Yes, and I mean, I think we've mentioned this job is painstakingly difficult, but we've signed up to do it.
44:45As the AG mentioned, we have not lost any vigor or investigative rigor as we've gone forth into this.
44:53I will say that that evidence that you're talking about sounds more like a smoking gun.
44:58Oftentimes, within my experience in the FBI, and I'm sure our partners as well, we get seeds. We only get seeds.
45:05And then we, through investigative, through that hard work, as the Colonel mentioned, we end up building that story.
45:12We put that puzzle together. That's what we do. That's what we signed up for.
45:16And we're committed to that, to this community, to help do that.
45:19In the back there.
45:20Yeah.
45:22Colonel.
45:23Yes, sir.
45:24I want to follow up on one of my colleagues over there.
45:26You mentioned old school police work, and my colleague mentioned crossing people off the list, making sure it's not that person.
45:34In homicide investigations, isn't it usually someone close to the victim? And if so, have you, and the person also seems to have no ground somewhat.
45:47Have you knocked off every single person from ground? When I say knocked off, meaning they didn't do it, they didn't do it, they didn't do it, they didn't do it, from staff to students?
45:56Yes, of course. I mean, investigations, and I don't think that in every homicide, everyone that commits the homicide is close to that person.
46:02That's not something that happens. But we have obviously eliminated those strong leads that come up as strong leads.
46:10As a tip comes up, we label it as a high priority, medium priority, low priority.
46:15And yes, once we vet it through and make sure that we cover everything and we prove that that person has nothing to do with it, absolutely, we'll clear it out.
46:23I just want to just jump in here to clarify that. So clearly, one of the things the investigators do, or maybe not so clearly, is that when you have a victim, you build back all of the relationships.
46:35You do that in any case. And so you build a profile of your victims, so you know who may have threatened them, what they may have said that might have caused somebody to react a certain way.
46:46So yeah, that work is ongoing in conjunction with all the other work we're doing. But from where I sit today, there's been no development of any evidence that suggests that that's what drove this shooter.
46:58That could change. But there's nothing that we have recovered or analyzed to date that suggests that it was specific person motivated.
47:08Again, could change. But you know, we're five days out. That work is being done. And there is nothing that suggests that at this time.
47:17Last question. This is for law enforcement and potentially Brown, but five days have passed. How is it possible that we still don't have a clear idea of who was in the classroom during the shooting?
47:32Five days have passed. It could be six days. We were hoping that only one day pass. Unfortunately, investigations, this nature of investigation, as intensive as it is, is going to take time.
47:42And it's going to take a lot of time to be able to interview C-7 and examine it to come up with the right person.
47:49But as the general stated, a person is going to get caught. We're going to do our job. We're not going to stop until we do.
47:54And so we're going to continue. It could be later. It could be tomorrow. But we're not stopping until we find them.
47:59But surely there's a log or summoning of people entering that classroom in particular now?
48:04No, I'd be happy to speak to that. So at this time of year, we have final exams taking place. We also have study sessions taking place.
48:11That particular classroom, it was a study session. Had it been a final exam, we'd have a roster. We handed it over.
48:19We know exactly who was in the room because everybody shows up for a final.
48:22But for a study session, it's elective to turn out for a study session.
48:33So we don't know exactly what fraction of the overall roster turned out for voluntary review session.
48:40So there's no physical log, just to clarify?
48:42Law enforcement is working to reconstruct that. But there would not be a formal law.
48:47The camera in that building, the ground pulled off because the sanctuary city law that we have.
48:54You don't want to recall illegal immigrants. And you don't want to provide the footage to the FBI of immigration authority.
49:01One camera in that building, it comes up from your detectives, a friend of mine.
49:05They're angry at this investigation that these people in Brown University put the camera off.
49:10They can identify that person. Do you imagine how the family want to go through?
49:14Tell the truth to the media here.
49:18We heard from both the Brown police chief and the provost at Brown who have shared that they have been fully cooperative and shared,
49:25been forthcoming with all data and evidence that they have.
49:30The city of Providence's experience is the same, which is that Brown has been entirely cooperative and collaborative and fully sharing with us.
49:38We will be back here tomorrow once again.
49:41If you are not on the press list and you would like to be to be updated, please see Camille.
49:46Otherwise, we will see you all tomorrow. Thank you. Yes, at four.
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49:59We'll see you next time.
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