Person of Interest in Brown Mass Shooting to be Released - UPDATED
GoLocalProv News Team
Person of Interest in Brown Mass Shooting to be Released - UPDATED
According to sources, there is a lack of evidence; the guns seized and the ballistics tested were reportedly not a match.
The man was detained early Sunday morning at a motel in Coventry. Some national media, including the Washington Post, printed the man’s name.
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Sunday 11 PM Announcement
"We know this is likely to cause fresh anxiety for our community," said Providence Mayor Brett Smiley at a press conference that started after 11 PM on Sunday night. "We want to reiterate what we said earlier - ever since the initial call we have not received any credible or specific threats to the Providence community."
"This investigation was and continues to be ongoing," Smiley added.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha spoke at the late-night press conference.
"Collectively the team developed leads in a number of areas, and one was chased to ground, which led to us detaining a person of interest - and how we choose those words matter," said Neronha. "There was some degree of evidence that pointed to that individual - that needed to be corroborated - that evidence now points in a different direction."
"What is really unfortunate is that this person's name was leaked to the public - it's hard to put that back in the bottle," added Neronha. "We're going to proceed carefully here - there is too much at stake.
Start All Over
Now, the Providence Police must start over again.
And, the spotlight moves to Chief Oscar Perez, who was in Florida when the shooting took place. On Sunday, at a press conference, Perez said that law enforcement was no longer searching for any other suspects.
Read the timeline of events HERE.
Story first published 12/14/2025 10:32 PM
UPDATED 12/14/2025 11:11 PM