Providence and the Brown University community remain shaken as authorities continue an intensive investigation into a deadly shooting on campus that left two people dead and multiple others injured. The tragic incident, which unfolded during a busy exam period, has drawn national attention and prompted a large-scale, multiagency law enforcement response.
According to multiple law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation, authorities have taken a person of interest into custody in connection with the shooting. The individual has been identified as Benjamin Erickson, a 24-year-old man originally from Wisconsin. Officials stress that Erickson is considered a person of interest only, and no formal charges have been filed at this time.
Law enforcement sources said Erickson was detained during an early-morning operation at a hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island, approximately 15 miles southwest of Brown University’s campus. The operation followed a coordinated effort between local, state, and federal agencies after investigators traced the individual’s location using cellphone geolocation data.
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team played a key role in locating the person of interest. In a public statement, Patel said:
“As a result, early this morning, FBI Boston’s Safe Streets Task Force, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service and the Coventry Police Department, detained a person of interest in a hotel room in Coventry, Rhode Island, based on a lead from the Providence Police Department.”
Sources familiar with the operation reported that officers knocked on the hotel room door and ordered the individual to open it. After entering, investigators questioned him regarding his whereabouts during the day and evening of the shooting. He allegedly told officers that he had remained at the hotel during that time.
