A gunman opened fire during a final exam review for the economics class of a Brown University professor, who also teaches Jewish studies courses, in Providence, R.I., on Saturday afternoon, killing two and wounding nine, according to law enforcement, officials and media reports.
On Monday morning, law enforcement said a person of interest was in custody.
Rachel Friedberg, teaching professor of economics and faculty associate of the Judaic studies program and of the population studies and training center at Brown, reportedly said that the attack occurred during a review session for her principles of economics class.
The professor, whose official Brown biography states that she served, for four years, as an economics professor at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and that her research addresses “economics of immigration, specifically econometric analysis of the outcomes and impacts of immigrants in the United States and Israel,” was reportedly not in the class at the time.
Her biography also states that she has “testified before Congress and participated in Knesset committee deliberations” and that she is “exploring the intersection of economics and Jewish studies.”
“Friedberg’s principles of economics course is the most popular class at Brown, taken by half of all undergraduates,” her bio states. She adds that her research areas include “Israel, Jewish social science, labor economics and the United States.”
It wasn’t clear from public statements what motivated the attacker. JNS sought comment from several Jewish groups on campus. The FBI Boston office told JNS that “it’s a very active investigation and to protect its integrity, we’re going to decline comment.”
Kash Patel, the FBI director, stated before noon on Sunday that the bureau, the U.S. Marshals Service and local police had “detained a person of interest in a hotel room in Coventry, R.I., based off a lead by the Providence, R.I, Police Department.”
“Please continue praying for the victims and their families, as well as all those at Brown University,” the FBI director said.
The White House said that U.S. President Donald Trump offered “deepest regards and respects” after the “shooting at Brown University, the antisemitic attack in Australia and the attack on U.S. forces in Syria.”
Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter who is Jewish, stated that “as Jews around the world gather around our menorahs on this first night of Chanukah, we are reminded how desperately the world needs more light and more kiddush Hashem,” sanctification of God’s name.
“The heartbreaking tragedies in Bondi Beach, Australia, and at Brown University weigh heavily on all of us,” she stated. “It is unimaginable to fathom the pain these families are enduring, and our hearts are with every loved one affected.”
She added that Chanukah “teaches that even in the darkest moments, a single flame has the power to push back overwhelming darkness” and that “tonight, may our lights shine in honor of those we lost, in solidarity with their families, and as a commitment to bring more compassion, integrity and holiness into the world.”
On Saturday, law enforcement said that more than 400 people from local, state and federal agencies had converged on the area around the Ivy League campus to search for the suspect, as the school continued to direct students to shelter in place many hours after the shooting.
A short video released of the suspect just suggested someone wearing dark clothes. The shooter was described as a man in his 30s, but the person of interest was later said to be in his 20s.
Amy Swearer, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, stated, “Look, is it entirely possible that these things are unconnected and that when officials vaguely said the gunman ‘yelled things’ during the shooting, they meant he yelled, ‘I really hate this econ class, because it’s super hard?’ Sure. Possible. But increasingly unlikely.”
“I’ll repeat: It’s still possible that he screamed ‘taxation is theft,’ or ‘I hate this class. It’s too hard,’ or even just ‘see all of you in hell.’ It’s possible he had a mental break and screamed, “Kill the lizard people,’” she added. “But as someone who studies mass shootings, there are certain things I’d hedge bets on right now.”
“The ‘taxation is theft’ guy would be far more likely to target federal or state officials over a random university classroom, and a suspect in his 30s trends away from ‘angry undergrad student’ at an Ivy League school just targeting his intro to econ class,” she said. “Also, someone in the class would likely have recognized him as a classmate by this point.”
She added that “nihilistic/suicidal shooters typically don’t try to make an escape.” Instead, “they typically have a plan to kill themselves or commit suicide by cop.”
“So many things are possible. Only a handful are actually probable right now,” she said. “And the ‘oh, this was potentially targeted against a Jewish professor’s class’ factor is really relevant, especially when the gunman is yelling unspecified things and has a gun with identifiable but unspecified unique characteristics.”
After the person of interest was detained, she stated that the person being in his 20s suggested that “assuming this is the actual gunman, the younger age would seem to skew back toward the potential of just being an aggrieved student, while the hotel aspect counter-skews away from that.”
She added that “handguns are once again the gun of choice for mass shooters.”
