PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The man detained as a person of interest in the Brown University shooting has been identified as 24-year-old Benjamin Erickson, according to senior law enforcement officials who spoke to NBC News and The Washington Post.
Erickson, described by officials as a Wisconsin resident, was taken into custody early Sunday after investigators used cellphone geo-location data to track him to a hotel room in Coventry, R.I., about 15 miles from the Brown University campus. Agents recovered two firearms, including one with a laser-sight attachment, an official told The Post.
Authorities are examining what may be an extensive mental health history for Erickson and are investigating whether he has any connection to Brown.
Erickson, a 24-year-old Wisconsin native, served as an infantry soldier in the U.S. Army, where he passed sniper training, had experience with firearms instruction and served as a rifleman between 2021 and 2024, according to the profile.
But in a statement, Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Ruth Castro offered a more limited description of his service, saying, “Benjamin W. Erickson was an Infantryman (11B) in the Regular Army from May 2021 to November 2024. He has no deployments and left the Army in the rank of specialist.”
Public records reviewed by The Post also indicate Erickson may have lived in an apartment on Washington, D.C.’s Southwest Waterfront, though it remains unclear whether that address has any relevance to the investigation.
The shooting erupted Saturday afternoon inside Brown’s Barus & Holley engineering building, killing two people and injuring nine others, all members of the university community. A shelter-in-place order remained in effect for hours as officers swept campus buildings and surrounding neighborhoods.
As of Sunday, no charges had been announced, and officials said the investigation remains active as they work to determine Erickson’s role, if any, in the attack.
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