Person of Interest in Deadly Brown University Mass Shooting Identified as 24-Year-Old Army Vet from Wisconsin: Reports

The “person of interest” taken into custody after the mass shooting at Brown University has been identified by multiple outlets.

NBC News, The Washington Post and CNN, citing police sources, reported that the individual is 24-year-old Benjamin Erickson.

Erickson served as an Army infantryman from May 2021 to November 2024, an Army spokesperson, Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, told NBC News. “He has no deployments and left the Army in the rank of specialist,” Castro said.

Police believe Erickson traveled from Wisconsin to Rhode Island to carry out the shooting, which left at least two people dead and nine others injured, according to CNN.

CNN reported that investigators traced the person of interest to a Hampton Inn in Coventry. After entering his hotel room, CNN said police asked Erickson where he was when the shooting occurred, and he responded that he had been at the hotel.

Citing multiple law enforcement sources, CNN reported that police found two firearms inside the room: a revolver and a small Glock handgun with a laser sight attached. The outlet said it was on the scene as at least 20 police officers, U.S. Marshals, and FBI agents went into the Hampton Inn room.

Erickson has not officially been named a suspect or charged. Police told NBC News he could face charges in the coming hours.

The Providence Police Department said it could not confirm details of the investigation at this point because no one has been charged yet.

Authorities added in a statement on Dec. 14, “The investigation remains active and ongoing. The Providence Police Department continues to work closely with the Rhode Island State Police, the FBI, local law enforcement partners, and federal, state, and local officials to review evidence and gather all relevant facts.”

“Additional information will be released as it becomes available and once we have a clearer and more complete picture of the circumstances involved,” they continued.

Col. Oscar Perez, the chief of police in Providence, said during a Dec. 14 press conference, per NBC News, that authorities are not searching for any other perpetrators.

The shooting unfolded inside Brown’s Barus & Holley building — home to the School of Engineering and the physics department — during afternoon final exams.

At 4:05 p.m. local time, authorities received a call reporting an active shooter on campus, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said during a Dec. 13 press conference.

At 4:22 p.m., Brown sent its first emergency alert, reporting “an active shooter.” But the shooter — described at the time only as a male dressed in black who was last seen exiting the building on the Hope Street side — remained at large.

Of the nine people injured, one was in critical condition, six were listed as critical but stable, and two were stabilized, a Brown University Health spokesperson said, per NBC News. Smiley later said on Dec. 14 that one person had been discharged, according to the outlet.

Brown President Christina H. Paxson said in a statement that “multiple exams” were scheduled in Barus & Holley from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the day of the shooting. She added that support services were available for the campus community and described the tragedy as “a day that no university community is ever prepared for.”