PROVIDENCE, RI — Authorities said they have detained a person of interest after a gunman opened fire inside a building at Brown University, killing at least two students and injuring nine others, the latest shooting to rock a U.S. college campus this year.

NBC News and the Washington Post, citing officials briefed on the investigation, reported the person of interest as Benjamin Erickson. USA TODAY has not independently verified that report. Erickson, 24, has not been charged and has not been named as a suspect in the shooting.

Erickson's possible connection to Brown University was not immediately clear.

Providence Police Department Chief Col. Oscar Perez said in a news conference earlier Sunday that the person detained was in their 20s. He said authorities were not looking for anyone else in connection with the case and that officials are not ready to name the person of interest.

“We’re in the process of collecting evidence and seizing items that we need to seize, search locations that we need to search,” Perez said during an afternoon news conference.

The shooting at the Ivy League University happened shortly before 4:05 p.m. on Saturday in an engineering building with unlocked doors as final exams were underway. Of those injured, Brown University President Christina Paxson said at least one person has been released from the hospital, one remains in critical condition, and seven are in critical but stable condition.

Officials have also not yet named the victims of the shooting. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said during a Sunday afternoon news conference that officials had not yet notified the families of all victims.

FBI Director says agency assisting investigation

In a Sunday morning social media post, FBI Director Kash Patel said law enforcement used cellular geolocation data to track the person of interest to a hotel room in Coventry, Rhode Island.

The agency, Patel said, is working with local officials to investigate images and videos related to the incident, including by reconstructing the shooting scene.

"This FBI will continue an all out 24/7 campaign until justice is fully served," Patel wrote in his post on X. "Thanks to the men and women of the FBI and our partners for their continued teamwork. Please continue praying for the victims and their families - as well as all those at Brown University."

What happens next? Authorities describe search for suspect

Perez could not confirm many details during two Sunday news conferences, but he said law enforcement will continue to coordinate with prosecutors, collect evidence, and interview eyewitnesses.

Police initially described the suspect as male, wearing all black, and possibly in his 30s. Perez confirmed the description in the morning news conference.

Ted Docks, with the FBI Boston Field Office, commended local law enforcement and said that the collaboration was integral to developing a suspect and taking them into custody within 24 hours.

Police in Coventry, Rhode Island, confirmed that he was detained at around 3:45 a.m. in a hotel on Centre of New England Boulevard, but would not pinpoint which hotel.

The Centre of New England is a large commercial and residential development, with several hotels, as well as a Walmart, Home Depot, and BJs.

Living through a school shooting — twice

Mia Tretta was sitting in her Brown University dorm room with friends when she got a text message about an active shooter. She didn’t believe it at first — despite her own painful experience with school shootings.

Tretta was a freshman at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California, on Nov. 14, 2019, when a gunman shot and killed two students and injured three others. Tretta’s best friend died, and she was shot in the stomach.

"I came to Brown because I wanted to get away from what happened to me in Saugus, and I wanted to be able to kind of live my life without constantly thinking about this," she told USA TODAY. "Now it’s followed me here."

The shooting that wounded Tretta in 2019 lasted eight seconds, she said. Her road to recovery has lasted years and included a two-week hospital stay, multiple surgeries, physical therapy, and ongoing struggles. Read more here.

— Karissa Waddick, Bailey Allen, and Dinah Voyles Pulver

Patriots pay tribute to Brown shooting victims with moment of silence

The New England Patriots honored the Brown University victims before Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills with a moment of silence.

The Patriots, along with each of the major sports teams in Boston, released statements on Saturday night in the wake of the shooting.

"The New England Patriots are heartbroken by the horrific events at Brown University," the Patriots' statement reads. "We extend our deepest sympathies to those affected and their families, and we remain grateful to the first responders and law enforcement who acted swiftly to protect the students, faculty, staff and the community. We stand with Brown University and our neighbors in Rhode Island during this difficult time."

– Jacob Rousseau

Providence tea shop shared surveillance footage with police

Michelle Cheng, the owner of popular local tea shop Ceremony, said in a series of social media posts that the man who owns the building where the shop is located, David Baskin, stayed up through the night reviewing surveillance footage with investigators.

They spotted the suspect walking through the neighborhood in that footage and shared the information with the authorities.

Cheng said the shop sheltered students while the campus was locked down, and neighbors in the building “opened their apartments and helped us get everyone settled.” The shop will be closed today.

“What we experienced was deeply traumatic, and we need a little more time to cope and support one another,” Cheng wrote.

'It's too damn frequent'

Smiley, the mayor of Providence, became emotional while talking with reporters about the number of mass shootings devastating communities across the United States. The topic, he said, came up when he spoke with four of the students injured at Brown.

“One of the students who showed tremendous courage literally said to me, ‘You know, that active shooter drill they made me do in high school really helped me,’” he said. "The reason it helped, and the reason we do these drills, is because it’s so damn frequent."

Hanukkah celebration turned vigil

Providence will turn what was going to be a community Christmas tree and menorah lighting Sunday in recognition of the first day of Hanukkah into a vigil for victims of the Brown University shooting, the mayor said. Law enforcement officers will be present at the event to ensure safety.

"For those who know at least a little bit of the Hanukkah story, it is quite clear that if we can come together as a community, and shine a little bit of light tonight, I think there is nothing better we can be doing as a community," Smiley said.

At least 11 people were killed and dozens more were wounded at a beach in Australia Sunday, in an attack believed to have targeted the country's Jewish community.

Brown students react to the shooting

Aviv Cohen, a pre-med sophomore at Brown, was in the midst of a physics final exam when he learned of the shooting. He described the night as "quite a surreal experience."

Cohen was taking the exam in Solomon Hall, a block away from where the shooting took place, when people entered the room and explained what was happening. After an hour, law enforcement visited the room but instructed the students to stay in place. Law enforcement kept them sheltered for at least 10 hours, Cohen said.

He returned to his dorm with friends after officials lifted the shelter-in-place order. When he heard the suspect was in custody, Cohen commented, "I feel like I am at least happy he is in custody. I think it means we are in a safer area."

University cancels all final exams

Paxson, president of Brown, told students in a Dec. 14 email that all remaining classes, final exams, papers and projects for the rest of the semester would be canceled.

"This choice was made out of our profound concern for all students, faculty and staff," Paxson wrote. "We know there is a long road ahead as students and families deal with the after effects of the events of the past day and the emergency that is still unfolding."

President Trump asks for prayers for Brown University victims

President Donald Trump asked people to pray for the victims of the shooting at Brown University.

"What a terrible thing it is," he told reporters while leaving the Army-Navy football game in Baltimore. "And all we can do right now is pray for the victims and for those that were very badly hurt, it looks like."

Earlier in the day, Trump posted on Truth Social about the shooting, saying he had been briefed and FBI officials were on the scene.

"God bless the victims and the families of the victims,” the president wrote.

Is this the first shooting at an Ivy League school?

Yes, Brown University is the first Ivy League school in recent history with a mass shooting that led to multiple deaths.

USA TODAY, along with the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), defines a mass shooting as an incident in which a minimum of four or more people are shot (injured or killed), not including the shooter, within a single event.

While there have been isolated fatal shootings at several Ivy League colleges, including a gun death at Harvard University in 2009 and a 2021 killing of a Yale graduate student, there have been no active-shooter incidents with multiple fatalities.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Person of interest identified after deadly Brown University shooting

Reporting by Eryn Dion, Katie Mulvaney, Katie Landeck, Karissa Waddick and Phaedra Trethan, USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect