An external review of Brown University’s handling of the mass shooting in December found it “highly unlikely” that the school could have prevented the tragedy, but also found leaders of the campus police department did not adequately prepare for “an active assailant event.”
Brown University hired Teneo Risk to investigate the school’s response to the December 2025 mass shooting that left two dead and nine injured. The gunman, who evaded capture by police and was eventually found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot, also murdered an MIT professor in Massachusetts.
The school released a summary of the firm’s findings, as well as information gleaned from a consultant’s report on the security of campus facilities, on Friday. It came hours after the city of Providence published a report largely lauding the response by the city’s first responders. The Providence report, commissioned and paid for by the city, concluded the city’s response was “highly effective across all levels of government.” It also identified shortcomings in preparedness, command, communications, public alerts and investigative organization.
The review of Brown’s actions by Teneo Risk “showed areas in which security could have been strengthened,” at the university. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the school added safety measures to campus, including tightening access to buildings and adding security cameras.
The report also found the university lacked enough staff to adequately respond to the crisis, failed to activate its emergency siren, and was unable to quickly get Providence police security footage they sought to identify the gunman.
Brown Chancellor Brian Moynihan and President Christina Paxson released the report in a message emailed to the university community.
“As we continue to mourn the victims and support the recovery of the injured students, we also remain resolute and steadfast in maintaining safety and security at the center of everything we do,” Moynihan and Paxson wrote.
The school replaced the campus police chief at the time of the shooting, Rodney Chatman, with Hugh Clements, a former chief of the Providence Police Department. The school leaders called the appointment of Clements an important step. Brown reached an undisclosed settlement with Chatman.
