Shooting at Brown University: Timeline from Chaos to Resolution
Following the initial gunfire at Brown University, information flowed in rapidly, marking the beginning of a chaotic situation that eventually settled as authorities meticulously searched the campus for a suspect. Call records from the day of the incident reveal the progression of events, highlighting the urgency and complexity of the response.
On December 13, two students were killed and nine others injured in the shooting. Investigators later identified the gunman as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, whose body was discovered in a storage locker in New Hampshire days later. Officials believe Valente took his own life after a professor affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was fatally shot.
Dispatch Logs Detail the Urgent Response
Dispatch logs from the Providence police and fire departments, obtained by NBC News, show a flurry of reports starting at 4:06 p.m. and continuing into the evening as Brown’s campus remained under lockdown for hours.
At 4:06:45 p.m., a dispatcher reported a call classified as a “shooting” within seconds. By 4:06:59, the same dispatcher confirmed a person had been shot. Over the next 30 seconds, the incident location was updated multiple times. At the same time, another dispatcher received a call about shots fired at Barus and Holley, the engineering building where students were studying for finals.
By 4:11:13, reports indicated two males had been shot—one in the shoulder and the other in the abdomen. At 4:12:02, a dispatcher noted a suspect wearing all black with a mask. Thirteen seconds later, another dispatcher logged a similar description. At 4:13:37, a report stated a female had been shot multiple times at Barus Hall.
Less than two minutes later, at 4:15:01, a caller described hearing 10 shots on the first floor while sheltering in place. Six victims were confirmed by 4:15. At 4:19:19, a caller reported a woman outside the library who had been shot and required medical attention. Two minutes later, another caller noted the same woman was shot in the leg at the same location.
Two dispatchers logged possible suspect sightings inside a building 10 seconds apart at 4:22 p.m., only to later mark “no suspect yet” less than two minutes later. The logs also detail responders clearing the scene, finding roughly 200 students in a single room and others hiding alone in bathrooms.
Hours after the first gunfire reports, authorities continued secondary searches at the university. A “live victim” was reported at 6:21:59 p.m. Buses were dispatched around 7:30 to transport families to a reunification center. Brown University’s shelter-in-place order was not lifted until the next morning.
By that time, officials had shifted focus from securing the scene to identifying and locating the suspect. A person of interest was detained the following morning but was released later that day after Rhode Island officials indicated evidence pointed elsewhere.
