Trump Blames University for Manhunt Delays

Washington,Dc,Usa,-,May,30,,2025,-,President,Donald

President Trump deflected blame from the FBI to Brown University for delays in capturing the campus shooter, calling it a “school problem”.

Story Overview

Trump blamed Brown University’s police and administration for investigative delays rather than the FBI
Two students killed including Brown College Republicans vice president in campus shooting
FBI faced internal scrutiny after wrongful detention based on faulty tip
Brown’s surveillance cameras failed to capture shooter’s face, hampering identification efforts

Trump Shifts Responsibility From Federal to Campus Authorities

President Trump explicitly redirected criticism away from the FBI when asked about delays in identifying the Brown University shooter. “This was a school problem. They had their own guards. They had their own police, had their own everything,” Trump told reporters. He insisted questions should be directed “to the school, not to the FBI” and emphasized that federal agents “came in after the fact.” This deflection came as FBI officials Kash Patel and Dan Bongino faced renewed scrutiny over the botched response, according to internal reports.

The blame-shifting follows Trump’s earlier misstep when he prematurely posted on Truth Social that the suspect was “in custody” at 5:44 p.m., only to retract the statement 19 minutes later. Brown University’s Department of Public Safety contradicted his initial claim, stating the “situation remains ongoing” while students remained under lockdown. Trump’s false assurance during an active manhunt created dangerous confusion that could have compromised student safety during shelter-in-place orders.

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FBI’s Investigative Missteps Draw Internal Criticism

Federal investigators fielded a tip that led to the wrongful detention of a 24-year-old man at a hotel, who was later released when evidence pointed “in a different direction.” Rhode Island’s governor called the public exposure of the innocent man “really unfortunate,” highlighting the high-profile nature of the FBI’s error. The Bureau’s struggles were compounded by Brown University’s inadequate surveillance infrastructure, as key campus footage failed to capture the shooter’s face clearly, forcing reliance on additional video sources.

The shooting occurred during final exams in Brown’s Barus & Holley engineering building, where approximately 60 students were attending an economics review session. Two victims were killed, including Ella Cook, vice president of the Brown University College Republicans, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Uzbekistan. Eight to nine additional victims were hospitalized in critical condition as Providence Police, Rhode Island State Police, FBI, and ATF coordinated a massive manhunt across the city.

President Trump blamed Brown University for the delay in locating the suspect in the fatal mass shooting on the school’s campus in Rhode Island on Saturday. https://t.co/1eFWMNUs93

— abc27 News (@abc27News) December 16, 2025

Campus Security Failures Expose Ivy League Vulnerabilities

Brown University’s security infrastructure proved inadequate during the crisis, with critical surveillance cameras failing to capture usable footage of the gunman dressed in black. The campus Department of Public Safety initially contributed to confusion with mixed alerts about custody status, undermining coordinated law enforcement messaging. These failures at an elite Ivy League institution raise serious questions about campus preparedness and the effectiveness of private university security protocols during mass casualty events.

The extended manhunt prolonged fear throughout Providence as the suspect remained at large days after the attack. Local officials stressed they were “using every available resource,” but the lack of clear surveillance footage and the FBI’s misdirected detention highlighted coordination breakdowns between campus, local, and federal agencies. This incident exposes how jurisdictional confusion can hamper response effectiveness when multiple law enforcement entities operate without clear command structure.