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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — While spending time in the wrestling room at Brown University, Khimari Manns was abruptly informed about an active shooter situation unfolding on campus.
Originally from Ohio, Manns was unaware that his roommate happened to be in the Barus and Holley building at the time of the gunfire.
“I only found out he was there when one of his friends contacted me,” Manns recounted. “I had a gut feeling something was off, so I sent him a text, but he didn’t respond.”
Speaking with Nexstar’s WPRI, Manns later discovered that his roommate, a freshman studying neuroscience from Virginia, was among the two students tragically shot and killed. The authorities have yet to release the identities of the victims involved in the shooting that occurred on Saturday.
“It feels unreal,” Manns expressed. “I still haven’t come to terms with it.”
Manns said the last time he saw his roommate was right before he left to spend time with his friends.
“I was in the room doing some work,” Manns recalled. “We were just talking about Pac-Man.”
Manns described his roommate as “a ball of joy.”
“He raised everybody else up, and he was just always there,” he said.
Manns said he hid in the wrestling room until officers found him and escorted him out. He stayed with friends overnight and returned to their room on Sunday afternoon.
“It felt like there was a ghost,” Manns said, referring to the first time he walked into the room. “It sucked.”
Manns said he will miss his roommate’s smile the most.
“I could be frustrated over my assignments … then he’d come in and cheer me up,” Manns said.
Though he still doesn’t know exactly what happened to his roommate, Manns said his death will have a profound impact.
“Brown is grieving. I am grieving,” Manns said. “His soul reverberated throughout the community.”
None of the 11 victims of the shooting have been identified. Police said a person of interest was taken into custody at a hotel in Coventry early Sunday morning, but no one has been charged so far.