PROVIDENCE, R.I. — During a tense finals week at Brown University, a tragedy unfolded as a gunman, disguised by a mask, entered a study hall and opened fire. Shockingly, no surveillance cameras captured the incident. As authorities work tirelessly to identify the shooter, scrutiny has intensified over the university’s security protocols, particularly in light of recent budget reductions.

The university has been grappling with a significant financial challenge, facing a $29 million budget shortfall. In response, Brown announced in September that it would be laying off 48 employees and not filling 55 vacant faculty positions, according to a statement from the institution.

Employees affected by these layoffs began receiving notifications the week of September 22.

At the announcement, Brown’s President, Christina Paxson, alongside other senior officials, revealed plans for “modest, temporary reductions” in both information technology and facilities maintenance.

Brown University President Christina H. Paxson addressed the media during a news conference following the campus lockdown triggered by the mass shooting on December 13, 2025. (Getty)

“Operating cost reductions will inevitably create challenges for some units and will affect service levels across campus,” they said.

The school did not immediately respond to questions about whether the IT cuts impacted campus security.

Experts have said it’s likely that the killer had a connection to the school and a possible grievance, but authorities have said they do not know the motive and with the suspect’s identity unknown, it’s unclear whether they are a current or former employee or student.

“If this were a straightforward layoff grievance, you would typically expect administrators or decision makers to be the focus, but investigators cannot assume that,” said Jason Pack, a former supervisory special agent with the FBI. “In real cases, grievance-driven violence often shifts toward where access is easiest and emotions are highest. That is why this could be one of many reasons about ‘why’ this happened that might lead to a ‘who.’”

He said investigators are likely hard at work behind the scenes — illustrated by the release of images Wednesday of a new person police are hoping to speak with, who they say was seen near the person of interest.

Members of the FBI Evidence Response Team search for evidence near the campus of Brown University, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo)

Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez said Tuesday evening that they don’t have any surveillance video showing the gunman inside the Barus and Holley Building. Authorities have released a series of surveillance videos showing a person of interest in the surrounding area for hours before the shooting and then fleeing the scene. They are asking for the public’s help identifying him.

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“Most shootings like this end the same way: hard police work, digital evidence that tightens the box and one crucial piece of information from the public that confirms what investigators already believe,” Pack said.

In a statement, a Brown spokesperson said the university had more than 1,200 cameras positioned inside and outside more than 250 buildings, but administrators have struggled to explain an apparent dearth of cameras inside the Barus and Holley Building.

Surveillance camera graphic shows blind spot near Barus and Holley building at Brown University. (Surveillance Under Surveillance)

“Brown’s security cameras do not extend to every hallway, classroom, laboratory and office,” the spokesperson said. “For security reasons, it is not prudent to share where cameras are and are not relative to individual buildings and locations.”

Still, the school has notably more cameras now than it did in 2000, when there were only 60 that recorded to VHS tapes, according to the Brown Daily Herald, a student newspaper.

Susan Constantine, a body language expert, said one key marker in his movement is an odd gait, in which his right leg bows inward while his toe points outward as he walks.

A split image showing multiple still frames from the surveillance video taken near Brown University of a person of interest before and after a school shooting Saturday. (FBI Boston)

With a mask on and limited cameras, there’s no clear view of his face or age. However, Constantine said some of his body language suggests he may be older than a typical undergrad student.

“The hands behind the back appears from someone more mature, closer to mid-30s,” she told Fox News Digital. “It’s either cultural or age.”

A still image from surveillance video shows the person of interest in the Brown University mass shooting with his arms behind his back on a sidewalk near the crime scene. (Providence Police Department)

The shooting left two students dead, identified as Ella Cook of Alabama and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov of Virginia, and nine injured.

Of the survivors, two have been released from the hospital while one is in critical but stable condition and six more are in stable condition.