Brown University: Two students dead, nine injured as major manhunt continues for gunman
An Australian reality star’s daughter is currently in hiding in her US dormitory amid a lockdown, with a shooter at large.
An Australian reality star has revealed that her daughter is currently in hiding in her university dormitory as a shooter remains at large after killing two people and injuring nine.
Real Housewives of Sydney star Nicole O’Neil shared that her 19-year-old daughter Neve is among hundreds of students in a lockdown after a shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island, US.
“Neve’s hiding in a dorm room with two friends,” Nicole wrote on Instagram on Sunday.
“They have barricaded the door with the bed and are just sitting quietly.
“The shooter is still at large. It is a tragic situation.”
Neve has been sheltering for more than seven hours and knows five of the students who were injured. Several of those hurt in the attack are her classmates, teammates and friends, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Neve said students were unaware of the danger for 17 minutes after the first shots were fired.
“It all happened very quickly … We are still in the dorms, locked away. We’re feeling quite safe at the moment,” Neve told The Daily Telegraph.
It comes after an image of the suspected gunman who opened fire at the top Ivy League school was released.
First responders rushed to the scene of Brown University in the state of Rhode Island after reports of an active shooter on Saturday just before 4.30pm.
“I can confirm that there are two individuals who have died this afternoon, and there are another eight in critical status, though stable,” Providence, Rhode Island Mayor Brett Smiley told a news conference.
Those on campus, and the surrounding neighbourhood, have been told to shelter in a safe place. The alert remains more than six hours after the incident.
In the latest press conference, CCTV vision was shared of the suspected shooter.
The man, dressed in dark grey or black clothing, can be seen walking out the door of one of the buildings on campus and down Hope Street moments after shots rang out.
Witnesses say the gunman also appeared to be wearing a camouflage mask.
“From the video we have seen so far, we don’t have the suspect depicted,” Deputy Chief of Providence Police Tim O’Hara told reporters late on Saturday.
Investigators say the shooter could be aged in his 30s.
More than 400 law enforcement officers, including FBI, remain at the scene.
Get all the latest news happening around the world as it happens — download the news.com.au app direct to your phone.
Residents in nearby neighbourhoods who may have CCTV cameras or door bell cameras are being urged to review the footage to see if they spot anything suspicious.
Officials say the eight victims rushed to hospital are mostly in a critical, but stable condition. Brown University President Christina Paxson said the dead and injured are all students. But she could not confirm the identity of the individual with gunshot wounds.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said early investigations indicate the shooting happened inside a classroom of the engineering and physics building.
It is not known at this stage why the students were in a classroom at the time as many were taking their final exams.
It is also understood the doors to the building were unlocked at the time, meaning anyone had easy access.
One student, Chiangheng Chien, told local media he and some of his classmates hid in a locked room for two hours before police arrived.
“We decided to open the door and let the police come in and search our body and search our lab and then we were told to get out of this building right away,” said Chien.
“There were these armoured police officers with all these weapons.”
Another student said she heard five to six gunshots.
A firearm has not been located, police said.
Brown University had 18 months ago held an active shooter drill involving police from the area, school and fire and rescue officials.
“It’s something we certainly plan for, practice for, rehearse, but never want to see it come to fruition like it did today,” the school’s Police Chief Rodney Chatman said.
The incidents comes on the eve of the 13th anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that left 20 young students and six staff dead in Connecticut.
US President Donald Trump, who earlier visited Maryland for an Army-Navy football game, said he is being updated on the shooting.
“I’ve been fully briefed on the Brown University situation, what a terrible thing it is, and all we can do right now is pray for the victims and for those that were very badly hurt it looks like,” he told reporters at the White House.
The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are on the scene assisting local police.
The prestigious university in Providence, near Boston, has about 11,000 students.
This is a developing story. More to come.
Originally published as Brown University: Two students dead, nine injured as major manhunt continues for gunman
