Trump criticizes Brown University over lack of 'security cameras' after deadly shooting

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump criticized Brown University on Tuesday, December 16, over what he described as inadequate campus security following a shooting that killed two people and wounded nine others.

The gunman remains at large, and authorities say that no suspects have been formally identified in the Saturday attack.

Trump placed responsibility for the lack of progress in the investigation on the university rather than federal law enforcement. The comments came as police and the FBI continued their search for the shooter. 

Trump targets campus security and surveillance 

Posting on his Truth Social account on X, Trump focused on the university's surveillance infrastructure, questioning why investigators have not obtained clear video footage from the building where the shooting occurred. 

"Why did Brown University have so few Security Cameras? There can be no excuse for that. In the modern age, it just doesn’t get worse!!! President DJT," Trump wrote. 

Providence police have confirmed that no clear video of the suspect inside the engineering building has been recovered.

Brown University is equipped with approximately 1,200 security cameras across campus, though officials have not specified how many were operational or positioned within the building at the time of the attack. 

Speaking from the Oval Office on Monday, Trump pushed back against scrutiny of the FBI, arguing that responsibility lay with the university.

He described the stalled investigation as a "school problem," saying Brown "had their own guards, they had their own police and their own everything."

Trump added that questions about the lack of suspect should be directed "to the school, not to the FBI," which he said became involved only after the shooting. 

FBI offers $50,000 reward in shooter investigation

Authorities have said the motive for the attack has not yet been determined. 

Providence police briefly detained a person over the weekend but later released them, stating there was insufficient evidence to hold the individual. 

The FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the shooter's arrest and conviction. Law enforcement also released images of a suspect dressed in black clothing with their face obscured by a mask and cap. 

Student profile removal fuels speculation

In the days following the tragic incident, online attention turned to the removal of a student profile from Brown University's website.

Archived versions of the page identified a first-year student named Mustapha Kharbouch, who was described as majoring in International Affairs and Anthropology with a focus on the Middle East. 

The page now returns a "page not found" message. 

Authorities have not publicly named any suspect, and Brown University has not commented publicly on why the profile was taken down. The search for the suspect remains ongoing.