The “person of interest” taken into police custody following the deadly mass shooting at Brown University has been identified, according to multiple outlets. NBC News, The Washington Post, and CNN, citing police sources, reported that the individual is 24-year-old Benjamin Erickson.
Erickson was an Army infantryman from May 2021 to November 2024, an Army spokesperson, Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, told NBC News. “He has no deployments and left the Army in the rank of specialist,” Castro said.
Police believe Erickson traveled from Wisconsin to Rhode Island to carry out the shooting, which left at least two people dead and nine others injured, according to CNN. The outlet reported that police traced the person of interest to a Hampton Inn in Coventry.
After making entry into his hotel room, CNN said police asked Erickson where he was when the shooting took place, and he responded, per the outlet, that he had been at the hotel. Citing numerous law enforcement sources, CNN reported that police found two guns inside the hotel room: a revolver and a small Glock handgun with a laser sight attached.
The publication was at the scene when at least 20 police officers, U.S. Marshals, and FBI agents went into the Hampton Inn room.
Erickson has not officially been named a suspect or charged. Police told NBC News he could face charges in the coming hours. The Providence Police Department (PPD) told PEOPLE, “We are unable to confirm details about the investigation at this point as we have not charged anyone yet.”
Authorities added in a statement on December 14, “The investigation remains active and ongoing. The Providence Police Department continues to work closely with the Rhode Island State Police, the FBI, local law enforcement partners, and federal, state, and local officials to review evidence and gather all relevant facts. Additional information will be released as it becomes available and once we have a clearer and more complete picture of the circumstances involved.”
Col. Oscar Perez, the chief of police in Providence, said during a December 14 press conference, per NBC News, that authorities are not searching for any other perpetrators.
The college shooting took place inside Brown’s Barus & Holley building, which houses the School of Engineering and Physics department during afternoon final exams.
At 4:05 p.m. local time, authorities received a call about an active shooter on campus, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said during a December 13 press conference. At 4:22 p.m., Brown sent its first emergency alert, reporting “an active shooter.”
But the shooter, described at the time only as a male dressed in black who was last seen exiting the building on the Hope Street side, remained at large.
Of the nine people injured in the incident, one was in critical condition, six were in critical but stable condition, and two were stabilized, a Brown University Health spokesperson said, per NBC News. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley later said in a news conference on December 14 that one person had been discharged.
The school’s president, Christina H. Paxson, said in a statement that “multiple exams” were scheduled in the Barus & Holley building from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the day of the shooting.
https://people.com/person-of-interest-in-brown-university-shooting-identified-as-army-vet-reports-11868697