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Authorities are investigating a connection between last weekend’s mass shooting at Brown University and the killing of an MIT professor two days later.
That is according to three people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Two of the people said Thursday that investigators had identified a person of interest in the shootings and were actively seeking that individual.
The shooting at Brown, in Providence, R.I., on Saturday killed two students and wounded nine others. The attacker got away.
About 80 kilometres away, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro was shot in his home Monday and died at a hospital Tuesday.
This undated photo provided by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows Prof. Nuno Loureiro, who was fatally shot at his home two days after the shooting at Brown. (Jake Belcher/MIT/The Associated Press)
The FBI previously said it knew of no links between the two cases.
But frustration is mounting in Providence that the person behind Saturday’s attack managed to get away and that a clear image of their face has yet to emerge.
“There’s no discouragement among people who understand that not every case can be solved quickly,” the state attorney general, Peter Neronha, said at a news conference Wednesday.
Photos of the two Brown University victims Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook rest among flowers and candles in front of the Van Wickle Gates of the campus on Thursday. (Taylor Coester/Reuters)
Investigation relies on multiple videos
Authorities have scoured the area for evidence and pleaded with the public to check any phone or security footage they might have from the week before the attack, believing the shooter might have cased the scene ahead of time.
But they have given no sense that they’re close to catching the shooter.
Investigators have released several videos from the hours and minutes before and after the shooting that show a person who, according to police, matches witnesses’ description of the shooter.
In the clips, the person is standing, walking and even running along streets just off campus, but always with a mask on or their head turned.
Although Brown officials say there are 1,200 cameras on campus, the attack happened in an older part of the engineering building that has few, if any, cameras.
And investigators believe the shooter entered and left through a door that faces a residential street bordering campus, which might explain why the cameras Brown does have didn’t capture footage of the person.
WATCH | Video shows person of interest:
FBI release new footage showing person of interest in Brown University shooting
The FBI and Rhode Island police have released new photos and videos showing the person of interest they are searching for around the campus of Brown University before Saturday’s shooting. The attack left two dead and nine critically injured.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said Wednesday that the city is doing “everything possible” to keep residents safe. However, he acknowledged that it is “a scary time in the city” and that families likely were having tough conversations about whether to stay in town over the holidays.
“We are doing everything we can to reassure folks, to provide comfort, and that is the best answer I can give to that difficult question,” Smiley said when asked if the city was safe.
Although it’s not unheard of for someone to disappear after carrying out such a high-profile shooting, it is rare.
Investigators have described the person they are seeking as about 173 centimetres (or 5 feet, 8 inches) tall and stocky.
The attacker’s motives remain a mystery, but authorities said Wednesday that none of the evidence suggests a specific person was being targeted.
WATCH | Search for shooter continues:
‘He’s going to trip up’: Retired FBI agent on Brown University shooter | Hanomansing Tonight
Providence police release enhanced video of the suspect in the Brown University attack as the search for the shooter continues. CBC speaks with Dan Brunner, a retired FBI special agent.
