Brown University police chief placed on leave after deadly shooting as Trump admin opens investigation

Brown University placed its constabulary main connected permission aft a deadly field shooting claimed the lives of 2 radical and near different 9 injured.

Vice President for Public Safety and Emergency Management Rodney Chatman was placed connected administrative leave, Brown University President Christina H. Paxson announced connected Monday. Her enactment comes conscionable implicit a week aft authorities said 48-year-old Claudio Manuel Neves Valente opened occurrence astatine the university's Barus and Holley engineering and physics gathering connected Dec. 13. Five victims stay astatine Rhode Island Hospital successful unchangeable condition.

Former Providence Police Department Chief Hugh T. Clements was appointed to regenerate Chatman connected an interim basis. Paxson's determination came arsenic the Department of Education opened an probe into Brown University for imaginable violations of the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act (Clery Act).

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Visitors intermission astatine a makeshift memorial for the victims of a deadly field shooting, astatine the Van Wickle Gate astatine Brown University, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, successful Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

The Clery Act requires colleges to conscionable definite field information and security-related requirements arsenic a information of receiving national pupil aid. 

"After 2 students were horrifically murdered astatine Brown University erstwhile a shooter opened occurrence successful a field building, the Department is initiating a reappraisal of Brown to find if it has upheld its work nether the instrumentality to vigilantly support field security," Education Secretary Linda McMahon said.

"Students merit to consciousness harmless astatine school, and each assemblage crossed this federation indispensable support their students and beryllium equipped with capable resources to assistance instrumentality enforcement," she added. "The Trump Administration volition combat to guarantee that recipients of national backing are vigorously protecting students’ information and pursuing information procedures arsenic required nether national law."  

Paxson besides announced that an "After-Action Review" volition instrumentality spot pursuing the deadly wide shooting, and announced a fig of field information enhancements. 

According to the astir caller information available, Paxson was the second-highest paid Ivy League president successful 2023, earning an estimed $3.1 million. Her full compensation has accrued by implicit 700% since 2012, according to information compiled by the Brown Daily Herald.

The information enhancements see further information camera coverage, which volition see the Barus and Holley building. Before the Dec. 13 wide shooting.

"As we enactment to heal and recover, our superior absorption is to nurture a thriving field by attending to the intelligence and societal wellness of each members of our assemblage portion we besides show that Brown is inactive Brown — a safe, inclusive, caring assemblage of talented students and scholars and dedicated staff," Paxson wrote.

During an earlier quality conference, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said determination were fewer oregon nary cameras successful the country of the gathering wherever the shooting happened.

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This combo representation made with photos provided by the FBI and the Providence, Rhode Island, Police Department, shows a idiosyncratic of involvement successful the shooting that occurred astatine Brown University successful Providence, R.I., Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (FBI/Providence Police Department via AP)

"So, there's the backmost portion of the building, the aged part, and the beforehand part, the caller part," Neronha told reporters. "The shooting occurs successful the aged portion towards the backmost … and that older portion of the building, determination are fewer, if any, cameras successful that location, I imagine, due to the fact that it's an older building."

Additional details astir the shooting person since emerged, including:

- A Brown University custodian said helium saw the suspected gunman astir a twelve times opening successful November.

- Brown University retained erstwhile U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island Zachary Cunha arsenic it prepares for imaginable lawsuits.

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A instrumentality enforcement authoritative walks past articles of covering connected a sidewalk adjacent an entranceway to Brown University, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, successful Providence, R.I., during the probe of a shooting. (Steven Senne/AP Photo)

Chatman was placed connected permission pursuing a study from The Boston Globe, which spoke with the custodian, Derek Lisi, who said helium saw the alleged shooter astatine Barus and Holley weeks earlier the shooting and alerted a information guard.

"I said, ‘Something’s disconnected with this guy, truthful I gotta accidental something,’" Lisi recalled reasoning erstwhile helium saw the antheral connected Dec. 1 earlier going connected vacation. "I told my friend, ‘I anticipation it’s not the feline I’ve been seeing. I anticipation it’s not.'"

A Brown University spokesperson said it works with extracurricular counsel connected immoderate issues.

"Brown works routinely with extracurricular counsel whose expertise complements that of the University's Office of the General Counsel. In this case, we retained Zachary Cunha, the erstwhile United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, to assistance the University successful coordinating with federal, authorities and section instrumentality enforcement agencies," a Brown spokesperson said.

Fox News Digital reached retired to Brown University for comment.

Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano contributed to this report.