A 24-year-old man who authorities apprehended in connection with the Brown University mass shooting was released from custody and the real gunman is still at large, authorities announced during a surprise press conference late Sunday night.
Benjamin Erickson was cuffed just before dawn on Sunday at a Hampton Inn hotel near Brown University — but now investigators are saying they had the wrong guy.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha explained that it was “difficult” to develop evidence and track down leads in the immediate aftermath of the shooting Saturday, in which two students were killed and another nine injured.
“This is what these investigations look like. Sometimes you head in one direction, sometimes you regroup and go in another,” Neronha said.
One of the leads they developed led them to Erickson, who authorities only referred to as a “person of interest.” Neronha said that there was only “some degree of evidence” that led them to Erickson, but said their investigation “now points in a different direction.”
“I think it’s fair to say that there’s no basis to consider him a person of interest, and that’s why he’s being released. We still have a lot of steps to take in this case,” he added.
The gunman, who has yet to be identified, burst into an economics class’ final review session and opened fire. He was armed with a handgun and shot off more than 40 .9mm rounds before fleeing the scene.
Witnesses said that they heard the shooter shouting something indiscernible while he was firing at the class.
Erickson originally told authorities he was in his hotel room all day Saturday, CNN reported.
Officials never formally identified Erickson as the person of interest they had in custody, but his name was leaked to multiple media outlets, including The Post.
Neronha criticized those who “leaked [information] to the public” and recognized it would be difficult “to put that back in the bottle.”
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley assured that they would keep a heightened security presence on and around campus so people could feel “comfort” while trying to find a sense of normalcy in the aftermath of the shooting.
Smiley added that officials see no reason to reinstate a shelter-in-place order since Brown University has not received any credible threats since the shooting.
Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee said that he recently spoke with FBI Director Kash Patel, who is “committed to bringing the resources of the federal government into this case.”
The FBI opened a tip line on its website. Officials said they are still searching for additional video evidence of the suspect, and they still believe the person seen in the footage released on Saturday is the assailant they are after.
The footage showed the gunman walking calmly down a street near campus, dressed in all black with his face covered.
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