President Trump said Brown University — not the FBI — should explain why locating a suspect took time after a fatal weekend shooting on the school's Providence campus. Authorities briefly detained a person of interest on Sunday after a tip, but officials later said there was insufficient evidence to hold that individual and indicated they were not the suspected shooter. Former NYPD Commissioner John Miller told CNN he believes there was friction between Providence police and the FBI during the response. Investigators say the probe is ongoing and no confirmed suspect has been publicly identified.
Trump Says Brown University, Not FBI, Should Explain Delay in Finding Suspect After Rhode Island Campus Shooting
President Donald Trump on Monday said Brown University — not the FBI — should answer questions about why it took time to locate a suspect after a fatal mass shooting on the university's Providence, Rhode Island, campus on Saturday.
What Trump Said
'You'd really have to ask the school a little bit more about that because this was a school problem,' Trump told reporters when asked whether FBI Director Kash Patel had explained why the FBI struggled to identify the suspected shooter. 'They had their own guards. They had their own police. They had their own everything. We came in after the fact, and the FBI will do a good job, but they came in after the fact.'
Investigation Timeline
Authorities said on Sunday they detained a person of interest after receiving a tip that investigators said specifically identified the individual; that person's name was later leaked to the press. Later that day, government and law-enforcement officials told reporters there was insufficient evidence to continue holding the person and indicated the available evidence suggests the individual was not the suspected shooter.
Local-Federal Relations
Former New York City Police Department Commissioner John Miller told CNN on Sunday he believed there had been friction between the Providence police and the FBI during the response. 'Has there been some friction between the Providence police and the FBI today over this? I'm going to tell you there has been,' Miller said.
Investigators continue to work the case. Officials have not publicly named a confirmed suspect, and the FBI has said it is assisting local law enforcement in the ongoing investigation.
