Police in Providence, Rhode Island, have released a man who was being held as a person of interest in a mass shooting at Brown University that killed two and wounded nine.
The Providence Journal reports that the person who person who opened fire Saturday in an engineering building on the Brown campus remained at large.
"We have a murderer out there, frankly," Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said.
The person of interest had been taken into custody Sunday at a hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island.
Police have resumed their search for the shooter, thought to be a man who was wearing all black.
The Associated Press reports that the release of the person of interest left law enforcement without a known suspect and raised concerns that the mistaken focus on the person of interest might have given the killer more time to flee.
Officials have pledged to redouble their efforts by asking neighborhood residents and businesses for video surveillance that might help identify the attacker.
Neronha said there had been some evidence that pointed to the man authorities detained, but “that evidence needed to be corroborated and confirmed. And over the last 24 hours leading into just very, very recently, that evidence now points in a different direction.”
The shooting occurred as final exams were underway at Brown. The gunman opened fire inside a classroom in the engineering building, getting off more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun.
One of the nine wounded students has been released from the hospital. Seven others were in critical but stable condition, and one was in critical condition.
