As the manhunt for the Brown University gunman continues into a third day, Providence area students are being offered mental health counseling.
Brown is committed to providing resources for ongoing support to its community, according to school officials. In a post Sunday, Brown’s provost Francis J. Doyle III said, “At this time, it is essential that we focus our efforts on providing care and support to the members of our community as we grapple with the sorrow, fear and anxiety that is impacting all of us right now.”
The Rhode Island School of Design, Johnson & Wales University, and the University of Rhode Island are among the area schools offering emotional support to students in the wake of Saturday’s shooting at nearby Brown University, which killed Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, and injured nine others. Although RISD‘s fall semester ended Friday and students have already taken their finals, the school is offering counseling and other psychological services to students and faculty including extended hours for in-person consultations. RISD is a short walk to Brown University’s campus. Via RISD’s Counseling and Psychological Services, RISD students can also access 24/7 mental health counseling by phone.
In addition to CAPS, the RISD community has access to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s disaster distress helpline for free and confidential counseling and also the 988 Lifeline for free and confidential counseling.
As the investigation continues, there is a continued heightened amount of local, state and federal police activity and increased patrols in the area, as noted on Brown University’s site. The school’s Department of Public Safety has more than doubled its staffing. The Providence Police Department has set up a tip line, 401-652-5767 and the FBI is seeking images and videos related to the shooting via fbi.gov/brownuniversityshooting.
Brown’s student body of 11,000-plus undergraduate and graduate students is considerably larger than RISD’s of more than 2,600. Founded in 1764, Brown is also considerably older than RISD, which dates back to 1877.
In an email to the RISD community Saturday night, RISD president Crystal Williams shared details about the emergency at Brown University and said that RISD officials remain in contact with Brown’s Department of Public Safety and the Providence Police Department. She described the RISD campus, which is a short distance from Brown University’s campus, as “relatively quiet,” since many RISD students had already made their way to their winter break destinations.
She wrote, “On the precipice of a season in which so many gather, celebrate, and reflect, such a tragedy is especially devastating. We mourn for the loss of life, for the physical and emotional injury this event has caused, and for interruption of the sense of safety and security that existed on College Hill. While we do not yet have the answers and information so many of us yearn for, please know that the safety and wellbeing of our community is our highest priority. RISD Public Safety personnel are actively working with authorities to keep our community members safe. Please only contact them in the case of an emergency.”
