Trump Points to Brown, Not FBI, for Delay in Apprehension of Shooter
As investigators continue searching for the gunman responsible for a deadly shooting at Brown University, President Donald Trump criticized the school’s handling of campus security and suggested the institution bears responsibility for delays in identifying the suspect.
Speaking Monday during an Oval Office ceremony recognizing U.S. service members involved in border protection efforts, Trump was asked about the ongoing investigation and the FBI’s role in it. He emphasized that federal agents became involved only after the incident and pointed to the university’s own security apparatus. “This was a school problem. They had their own guards,” Trump told reporters. “They had their own police, had their own everything. But you’d have to ask that question really to the school, not to the FBI. We came in after the fact, and the FBI will do a good job, but they came in after the fact.”
The suspect in the Providence campus attack remains at large, with authorities continuing to analyze surveillance video and other evidence. The FBI has released three photographs showing a masked male suspect described as standing 5 feet 8 inches tall with a stocky build, and is offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
On Sunday, law enforcement officials briefly detained a person of interest after receiving a tip that specifically named an individual. That name later circulated publicly. However, investigators said they lacked sufficient evidence to continue holding the individual and now believe he is not connected to the shooting.
Police also moved to correct reports suggesting multiple people had been questioned, clarifying that only one person of interest had been detained and interviewed.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said Monday that progress is being made in the case. “Steady progress” has been achieved, he said, adding, “And the sooner we can identify that person, the sooner we can, I think, blow this case open.”
The shooting claimed the lives of two students and left nine others wounded. One of the victims was identified as Ella Cook, a sophomore from Alabama who served as vice president of the Brown University College Republicans, according to authorities.
The second victim was named as Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov. Officials said Umurzokov and his family are naturalized U.S. citizens originally from Uzbekistan who currently reside in Virginia.
{Matzav.com}
