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Brown University police chief steps aside amid safety review
Brown University has placed its campus police chief on immediate administrative leave, nearly ten days after a shooting spree left two students dead and nine others injured, the university's president announced on Monday.
Decision follows criticism of law enforcement response
Rodney Chatman, who has led the university's police department, was relieved of his duties as part of what President Christina Paxson described as a routine evaluation of campus security protocols in the wake of the 13 December attack. The move comes amid growing scrutiny of how authorities handled the incident, including delays in identifying and apprehending the suspect.
Federal and presidential scrutiny adds pressure
Earlier on Monday, the U.S. Department of Education revealed it had launched its own inquiry into Brown's safety measures following the shooting. The announcement followed remarks by former President Donald Trump, who publicly criticized the university for what he called insufficient surveillance coverage. Paxson later clarified that Brown's campus is equipped with approximately 1,200 security cameras.
Suspect identified and found deceased
Six days after the rampage, law enforcement identified the gunman as Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national who had previously been a student at Brown. Valente was discovered dead in a storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire, on Friday. Authorities now suspect he was also responsible for the fatal shooting of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor two days after the Brown attack, though no motive has been disclosed for either incident.
Timeline of the attack
According to officials, Valente entered a building housing Brown's engineering and physics programs and discharged at least 44 rounds from a handgun. The victims were identified as Ella Cook, a 19-year-old second-year student from Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old first-year student of Uzbek-American descent.
University pledges comprehensive safety review
In her statement, Paxson commended the "bravery and dedication" of campus officers who responded to the shooting but acknowledged the "anxiety, fear, and stress" gripping the university community. She outlined immediate steps to address concerns, including a review of the emergency response and an assessment of existing safety policies, both of which will be overseen by Brown's highest governing body.
"While we honor the courage of those who acted in the moment, we must also examine how we can better protect our campus moving forward,"
Christina Paxson, President of Brown University
