Campus News

Brown University President Confronted Over ‘Concerning’ Lack Of Details From Hours-Old Shooting

[Screenshot/YouTube/NBC 10 WJAR]

A Rhode Island-based reporter called out Brown University’s president on Saturday for her apparent lack of knowledge about a basic aspect of the deadly shooting which ravaged the Ivy League school six hours earlier.

At around 4:00 p.m. local time Saturday, a gunman opened fire inside a classroom of an engineering building on Brown’s campus in Providence while the university was conducting final exams. The incident left two victims dead and nine injured. The following morning, authorities arrested a suspect in connection with the deadly shooting but released that person of interest later that day.

NBC 10 WJAR’s Dan Jaehnig took concern with Brown President Christina Paxson’s insistence she did not know what was going on in the classroom where the shooting took place during a Saturday night press conference.

“President, with all due respect, six hours after the shooting and you said you don’t know what was going on in that classroom? How does that happen?” Jaehnig asked Paxson during the press conference which included Democratic Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, Democratic Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, and Providence police deputy chief Cmdr. Timothy O’Hara.

“Were they taking an exam? Were they meeting for a club?” the reporter pressed.

“I don’t know. I don’t know,” Paxson replied.

“Six hours later — and you’re the president — and you don’t know?” Jaehnig followed up.

“I do not know,” the Brown president repeated.

“Well, that’s kind of concerning,” the reporter said.

Shortly before Jaehnig’s question, another reporter had asked Paxson if she could confirm several of the shooting’s victims were members of Brown’s women’s lacrosse team.

“I could not confirm that,” the school’s president replied.

“President, how are you doing today, processing all this?” another reporter then asked Paxson.

“Uh, yeah. It’s— it’s hard to process,” Paxson answered. “I was on a plane to D.C. when it happened and flew right back and I’m catching up right now.”

Paxson, who has a background in economics and public health, has served as Brown University’s president since 2012. She is currently the longest-tenured incumbent president of the nine elite institutions comprising the Ivy League.