Authorities have reportedly identified the person of interest in the mass shooting at an Ivy League university in Rhode Island.
The man detained as a person of interest in the Brown University shooting was identified as Benjamin Erickson, a 24-year-old from Wisconsin, multiple law enforcement sources told NBC News and The Washington Post on Sunday. Investigators use the term “person of interest” to refer to someone whom they believe has information and wish to question.
NBC News: Three senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation say the man police have in custody in connection with the Brown University active shooter incident has been identified as:
Benjamin Erickson
DOB: 8/10/01
Reported w/ @jonathan4ny— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) December 14, 2025
Erickson was taken into custody at a hotel about 15 minutes from the Brown campus in Providence, the Post reported. He has not been named as a suspect or charged in connection with the attack that killed two people and injured nine others.
Authorities told NBC that they are looking into Erickson’s mental health history and his connection to Brown.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Providence police for comment.
Public records show that Erickson lived in an apartment in Washington, D.C. as of June 2024. He previously lived in Wisconsin.
The U.S. Army said Erickson served as an infantryman from May 2021 to November 2024. He had no deployments and left the Army in the rank of specialist, Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Ruth Castro said in a statement.
Providence police chief Col. Oscar Perez told NBC on Sunday afternoon that officials hope to charge Erickson soon. Authorities cannot hold Erickson beyond tomorrow if no charges are filed against him.
“We’re going to work with the attorney general’s office to make sure that we have the right legal requirements for the charges,” Perez said. “And this is, it’s just complex. There’s a lot of evidence, there’s a lot of witnesses, and so we have to make sure that we have it all tight. And to make sure we have a good case.”
The shooting began around 4 p.m. local time on Saturday. The identities of the two killed and nine injured have not yet been released, but Brown said they were all students. Of those injured, seven are in critical but stable condition, one is in critical condition, and one has been released after treatment.
President Donald Trump offered little consolation to the victims and their families as he delivered remarks at the White House on Sunday.
“And Brown University, great school. Great, really, one of the greatest schools anywhere in the world. Things can happen,” he said. “So to the nine injured, get well fast. And to the families of those two that are no longer with us, I pay my deepest regards and respects from the United States of America. Thank you very much. It’s a very important thing to say. And we mean it.”
The post Authorities Identify ‘Person of Interest’ in Ivy League Shooting appeared first on The Daily Beast.
