The manhunt around Brown University entered its fifth day as law enforcement chased a fresh lead in the deadly campus shooting that left at least two students dead and multiple others wounded. Cameras and investigators are piecing together a timeline that shows a masked figure moving through College Hill hours before gunfire erupted, and authorities are under pressure to identify and stop whoever committed this atrocity. Americans deserve swift answers and decisive action when innocent lives are taken on a college campus.
Providence police released new photos this week of someone they say was “in proximity” to the person of interest, saying this individual was close enough that investigators need to speak with them as part of building the case. That release should be a wake-up call: when police ask for help, communities that still believe in law and order must respond with tips and cooperation, not finger-pointing. We must back the investigators doing this dangerous, painstaking work instead of undermining them with partisan hysteria.
Surveillance footage shows the person of interest walking through quiet, affluent streets around the eastern edge of campus and even lingering near buildings that should have been better secured. This is not merely a failure of one camera or one shift — it’s a symptom of a culture that treats campus security as an afterthought while prioritizing optics over actual safety. Parents and taxpayers who send their kids to these elite institutions deserve campuses fortified with common-sense protections, not virtue signaling.
Retired FBI supervisory special agent Jason Pack warned on national television that early details often change and that investigators must be methodical when clearing buildings and collecting evidence. Listen to professionals like Pack: policing is slow, meticulous, and dangerous work, and it deserves our respect, not cheap political point-scoring. If America wants safety, we must fund and empower trained law enforcement instead of defunding or demonizing them.
Reports say law enforcement has recovered physical and DNA evidence from the scene, offering hope that the new lead will lead to an arrest. That forensic reality is a reminder that decisive, science-backed policing still works when politicians let investigators do their jobs without grandstanding. Schools and local governments should immediately review security gaps, ensure proper surveillance coverage, and stop pretending that soft policies will protect students.
This tragedy also exposes the dangerous complacency of elite institutions that prioritize PR over preparedness. Brown and universities like it must stop treating safety as optional and start implementing hard security measures — clear perimeters, trained officers, and rapid response protocols — so grieving families aren’t left asking why more wasn’t done. There’s no room for ideology when students’ lives are on the line; protect them first, argue policy later.
Now is the time for every patriotic American to stand with the victims, support first responders, and demand justice. Call out leaders who delay or deflect and insist on real reforms that prioritize safety over campus politics. We owe the families and the fallen nothing less than relentless pursuit of the truth and full accountability for whoever brought violence into a place of learning.
