The level of anxiety among Rhode Islanders “has increased” since a person of interest was released amid a manhunt for a gunman who shot and killed two Brown University students on Saturday, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said.
“We understand that there is a high level of anxiety and after this individual was released last night, I understand that the level of anxiety has increased in our community,” Smiley told ABC News on Monday. “But it’s no different than a day ago, which is that we have received, we continue to receive zero credible threats to our brown community or the community at large.”
Smiley’s comments came as federal and local law enforcement officials continued their investigation early Monday, two days after the mass shooting at an academic building in Providence on Saturday.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley appears on ABC News’ “Good Morning America” on Monday, December 15, 2025.
ABC News
A person of interest in the case, who had been detained early Sunday, was released later that day after authorities said there were no grounds to continue detaining him.
“Tonight we announced that the person of interest will be released. The investigation has been ongoing and remains fully active among all agencies,” the Providence Police Department said in a statement early Monday. “Since the first 911 call, we have not received any specific threats to our community.”
People place flowers at the Van Wickle Gates, following a shooting at Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, on December 14, 2025.
Kylie Cooper/Reuters
Smiley on Monday did not say with certainty whether the person of interest who was released was cleared of any connection to the case. He also declined to say whether the investigation targeted a student or someone off campus.
“We cannot comment on that and we are exploring all possible leads,” he said.
According to authorities, two people were killed and nine were injured in the shooting. The wounded victims were transported to local hospitals amid a day of “devastating gun violence,” university president Christina H. Paxson said in a statement released early Sunday.
“Every year, first responders and students drill for the unthinkable: a shooting in our schools,” Gov. Dan McKee said in his own statement. “Yesterday, that action became very real when a gunman opened fire on a classroom of innocent Brown University students.”
The FBI and other law enforcement officials shared a short video clip of someone they described as a person of interest. The individual is seen in the clip wearing dark clothing, including what appeared to be a hood, as he walks down Hope Street and turns a corner heading north.
People place flowers at the Van Wickle Gates, following a shooting at Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, on December 14, 2025.
Steven Senne/AP
The person’s right hand appeared to be in his jacket pocket as he walked north on Waterman Street before exiting the frame.
Authorities said they still believe the person seen in that video is a person of interest in the shooting.
The person of interest who was detained and released Sunday was initially captured around 3:45 a.m. at a hotel in Coventry, about 28 miles south of Providence, according to law enforcement sources and Coventry police.
Law enforcement sources described the detained person of interest as a man in his 20s from Wisconsin. According to sources, at the time of the arrest the person was allegedly in possession of two firearms.
There was “no basis” to keep the person detained, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said.
“Sometimes you go in one direction and you have to regroup and go another,” Neronha said. “That’s exactly what happened in the last 24 hours.”
ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik, Aaron Katersky, Luke Barr, Pierre Thomas and Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
