Published: 16 December 2025 07:10 GMT+7 | Updated: 16 December 2025 14:20 GMT+7

In a bombshell twist that has sent shockwaves through one of America’s most prestigious universities, police have sensationally released the only person ever arrested in connection with the horrific mass shooting at Brown University – leaving the blood-soaked campus gripped by raw fear as the cold-blooded killer remains on the loose.

The jaw-dropping development came just hours after heavily armed officers stormed a seedy hotel room in Coventry, Rhode Island, and hauled away a man they hailed as their prime ‘person of interest’ in the massacre that claimed two young lives and left nine others battling gunshot wounds.

But in a late-night press conference that has only fuelled the growing sense of panic across the Ivy League powerhouse, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha delivered the devastating news: ‘We have pursued a different investigative avenue. There is no longer any basis to consider this individual a suspect.’

The gunman who turned a quiet exam hall into a slaughterhouse is STILL out there – and cops are back to square one.

Heavily armed police swarm the ivy-covered quads of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, as the nightmare shooting unfolds during frantic finals week

The atrocity erupted in the most heart-stopping fashion imaginable on Tuesday afternoon inside the university’s state-of-the-art engineering building – precisely as stressed students were hunkered down for end-of-term exams.

Eyewitnesses spoke of sheer pandemonium as a masked gunman stormed into a packed lecture theatre and unleashed a hail of bullets without mercy or warning.

One brave 18-year-old freshman – a kid who should have been worrying about his grades, not dodging death – was shot in the leg while heroically dragging a terrified classmate to safety behind an overturned desk.

He is now recovering in hospital, one of nine wounded in the frenzy. One victim remains in critical but stable condition, seven others are stable, and one has already been discharged.

But the true horror lies in the tales of those who survived the onslaught.

Students described diving under tables, barricading doors with chairs, and whispering frantic goodbyes to their parents over text as gunfire echoed through the corridors.

One young woman, who asked not to be named, told how she hid in a storage closet for 45 agonising minutes, her heart pounding as she listened to the screams of her friends.

‘We thought we were going to die,’ she said, her voice trembling. ‘It was like a movie – but it was real.’

It was every parent’s living nightmare come true.

The gunman – whose identity is still a complete mystery – fled the scene into the bustling streets of Providence, vanishing like a ghost and triggering one of the largest manhunts in Rhode Island history.

Hundreds of officers, SWAT teams and FBI agents descended on the 150-acre campus, locking it down with armoured vehicles, roadblocks and helicopters thundering overhead.

Parents from coast to coast were left in torment, bombarding their children with desperate messages: ‘Are you safe? Tell me you’re alive.’

One mother from California recounted the gut-wrenching moment her daughter replied with a single, blood-chilling text: ‘Mom, active shooter. I love you.’

The wait was unbearable.

Within hours, a promising lead emerged. Cops zeroed in on a man hiding out in a budget hotel 17 miles away in Coventry.

He was arrested after what insiders called a ‘solid tip’ – sparking a flicker of hope that justice might be swift.

For a brief, tense window, the shattered community dared to breathe.

But that hope was brutally extinguished.

By 11pm on Tuesday, Neronha faced the cameras and admitted the devastating truth. The man – whose name has not been released – was cleared after phone records, CCTV footage and witness statements proved he was nowhere near the campus when the shots rang out.

‘This was a difficult but necessary decision,’ he said, looking drained. ‘Our focus now is on finding the perpetrator.’

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley was blunt about the fallout: ‘This may heighten anxiety in our community. We get it.’

That’s the understatement of the century.

SWAT teams raid the hotel in Coventry where the short-lived ‘person of interest’ was dramatically arrested – only for him to walk free hours later

FBI Director Kash Patel has now poured federal resources into the faltering probe, deploying a crack team of data analysts to sift through mobile phone pings, social media trails and thousands of hours of surveillance footage.

‘Every tool in our arsenal is being used,’ Patel vowed. ‘We will not rest until this monster is caught.’

But for the traumatised students, faculty and families of Brown University, official assurances ring hollow.

The entire remaining semester has been scrapped. Exams? Cancelled. Assignments? Forgotten. The academic year that began with such promise has ended in carnage.

University President Christina Paxson lifted the ‘shelter in place’ order at 5.42am yesterday morning – but vast swathes of the campus remain cordoned off as forensic experts comb every inch for clues.

In gut-wrenching scenes, hundreds of shell-shocked young people gathered for candlelight vigils as darkness fell, their faces illuminated by flickering flames as they clutched photos of the fallen and wept for friends lost.

One tearful sophomore, her voice breaking, said: ‘Brown was supposed to be our safe haven. Our future. Now it’s a crime scene. I don’t know if I’ll ever feel safe here again.’

Heart-wrenching candlelight vigil at Brown University as devastated students and staff mourn the two killed and pray for the nine wounded

This isn’t just another grim headline in America’s endless gun saga – it’s the latest chapter in a national epidemic that shows no sign of slowing.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, the Brown University horror has pushed the tally of mass shootings in the US this year to a staggering 389 – more than one every single day.

The organisation defines a mass shooting as any incident in which four or more people are shot, wounded or killed, excluding the shooter.

And each one follows the same soul-crushing script: the gunfire, the lockdown, the vigils, the politicians’ empty words… then the next one.

President Donald Trump was among the first to react, posting on Truth Social: ‘Our hearts are shattered for the victims and families at Brown University. We pray for the injured and salute the heroic first responders. This evil must end.’

But as always, the real firestorm is brewing in Washington.

Democrats are ramping up calls for stricter gun control, zeroing in on the semi-automatic rifle believed to have been used in the attack.

‘How many more campuses have to bleed before we act?’ thundered Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Republicans, predictably, are pushing back, arguing that the solution lies in better mental health screening, armed security on every school and cracking down on ‘soft targets’.

One thing is crystal clear: the families of the dead and injured aren’t interested in the political circus.

They want answers. They want the killer found. They want their children to come home.

And right now, they have none of those things.

The suspect who spent a terrifying night in custody before being cut loose has reportedly returned to his life – though his lawyer has described the ordeal as ‘devastating’ and is demanding a full apology from authorities.

But for the father of one of the wounded students, speaking outside Rhode Island Hospital, apologies are meaningless.

‘They had him. They let him go,’ he said, his eyes red with exhaustion and rage. ‘My son is lying in a hospital bed with a bullet hole in his body, and the cops are telling us they have no leads? This country is broken beyond repair.’

As the investigation limps forward, Brown University – the alma mater of billionaires, senators and Nobel Prize winners – has been transformed overnight into a fortress.

Metal detectors at every entrance. Armed guards patrolling the historic quads. Counselling services stretched to breaking point.

Yet for many students, it’s cold comfort.

‘I jump at every loud noise,’ confessed one junior who was studying in a nearby library when the shots started. ‘Every backpack looks suspicious. Every stranger could be the next shooter.’

The psychological wounds will linger for years.

And as America once again buries its young, the same exhausted arguments rage on.

How many more lecture halls must be turned into killing fields?

How many more parents must receive that dreaded knock on the door?

The premature release of the suspect has only amplified the sense of helplessness and incompetence.

Investigators are now resorting to old-school detective work: interviewing hundreds of witnesses, poring over grainy CCTV from every corner of the campus, and begging the public for tips – no matter how insignificant.

But in 2025, with smartphones in every pocket and social media amplifying every rumour, the killer’s silence is ominous.

No manifesto posted online. No bragging on dark web forums. No farewell video.

Just two bodies in the morgue, nine families in agony, and an entire university living in fear.

As midnight approaches in Providence, the streets around Brown are unnaturally still.

But the tension is electric.

Dozens of parents have already yanked their kids out of classes and flown them home.

Alumni are flooding GoFundMe pages for victim support funds.

And somewhere in the shadows, a ruthless killer walks free – perhaps planning his next move.

The question haunting every student, every parent, every American tonight is as simple as it is terrifying:

How long before this nightmare claims another campus?

Additional reporting by Daily Mail correspondents in Providence, Rhode Island, and Washington DC

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Students and locals gather in emotional vigil as the Brown University community grapples with unimaginable loss