‘We made eye contact’: Brown University student recounts shooter storming lecture hall

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND: A routine exam review session at Brown University turned into a nightmare when a gunman burst into a packed lecture hall and locked eyes with the student leading the class.

Joseph Oduro told ABC News that he was leading the session when the shooter entered the room on the Providence, Rhode Island, campus on Saturday, December 13. 

"I immediately, when I saw him, I saw a gun," Oduro told ABC News correspondent Whit Johnson in an interview on Sunday. "The gun was so big and long that I genuinely thought, like, okay, this is the end of the road for me."

Officials said at least two people were killed and nine others were injured in Saturday's shooting. The gunman fled the campus, but police said Sunday morning that a person of interest was detained at a hotel in Coventry, RI.

However, the person has since been released. 

Locking eyes with the shooter

Oduro said he was in room 160 of the Barus & Holley building with roughly 50 to 60 students when they heard a loud disturbance outside the door, including what sounded like screams and gunshots.

"And around five seconds or so later, we see a gunman walk in on the left-hand side," said Oduro, who is set to graduate this month.

He described the gunman as wearing dark clothing from head to toe, with something bulging from his chest that could have been ammunition or a bulletproof vest. The shooter’s body was completely covered except for his eyes and part of one hand, Oduro said.

"We made eye contact," the student recalled. "I know he mumbled something, screamed something. I don't know exactly what was said, but he entered the room, and you could just see the panic in all the students' eyes," Oduro said. "I was standing in the front, so as soon as he walked in, he immediately saw me, and I immediately saw him."

As gunfire erupted, Oduro said he saw some students run for the door while others dove to the ground, "just whatever it takes to stay alive."

He said he immediately dropped to the floor and motioned for students to take cover behind a table where he was hiding. The gunman was about 30 feet away at the top of the amphitheater-style lecture hall, Oduro said.

He estimated hearing 40 to 50 gunshots and said some victims inside the lecture hall were shot multiple times. He believes all of the students who were shot were part of his review session.

A final text home amid endless gunfire

Oduro said he sent what he believed might be his last message to his parents amid the chaos.

"I texted them, and I said, 'I love you all, and I'm sorry for all the trouble that I put you through, and I just love you all, and I'm thankful for all of your lives,'" Oduro said, showing ABC News the text messages.

While lying on the floor, Oduro said he tried to comfort a student who had been shot in both legs and was in severe pain.

"If she were to make a noise ... anything like that, and the gunman would have heard, we have no idea what would have happened. I think the state of emergency would have been way worse. So I gave her my hand to squeeze as hard as she could," Oduro said. "I said, 'Put all your pain on me because I could take it.'"

Oduro remembered the wait for the gunfire to stop felt endless. He said it "felt like 14 days."

After the gunman left the room, Oduro said he and the remaining students stayed where they were.

"You don't know if he's gonna come back, and the odds of him going to another room are extremely high. So, if we try and exit and find another way out, maybe we might cross paths with him again, and you can escape once, but you're definitely not gonna escape twice," Oduro reasoned.

Even when police eventually entered the lecture hall and ordered everyone to put their hands up, Oduro said no one immediately moved.

"None of us complied because we all thought it was just another shooter," he recalled.