Investigators seeking the man who murdered two and injured nine at Brown University on Saturday night have been slammed for their job so far.
On Monday afternoon, Providence Police in Rhode Island released new surveillance footage of the person they think is their suspect.
However, the clip is filmed one street and a parking lot away from the shadowy figure, who strides along the sidewalk as dusk begins to settle on Saturday afternoon.
At no point is the person’s face visible – and for the majority of the 18-second clip, the man completely blends into the dark hedge in his background.
With the horrific mass shooting having happened nearly 50 hours ago, members of the Rhode Island community are questioning the investigators’ efforts.
It comes after FBI agents and cops detained a ‘person of interest’ identified as Benjamin Erickson, 24, hours after the attack on Saturday – but he was later released.
As of Monday afternoon, authorities have no suspect in custody. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said the Wisconsin man that was in custody for most of Sunday ‘is not a person of interest at all at this point.’
Fury has mounted across Rhode Island, with fingers being pointed at FBI’s Kash Patel and local law enforcement for failing to track down a suspect.
People have been sharing outrage online as well. On Facebook, one user wote: ‘Providence Police are now releasing Benjamin Erickson from custody. This is called incompetence. Shooter still at large.’
‘What a joke! Keystone cops?!’ another user wrote in reference to an old movie about incompetent policemen.
‘They detained the wrong guy, leaked his name, smeared his service to our country in the Army, and then say “oops”. Absolute clown show in Rhode Island,’ a third user began.
‘The Rhode Island Attorney General is now apologizing for the false detention of Benjamin Erickson, stating it was “unfortunate” that his name was allowed to be leaked to the public. It’s “unfortunate” any of these people have jobs,’ the user concluded.
Erickson, an Army sniper originally from Wisconsin, was taken into custody for questioning about the shooting which killed two Ivy League students on Sunday.
However, within hours of his name being leaked to the public, authorities disclosed at a hastily-convened 11pm press conference that he would be freed.
‘We have a murderer out there,’ said Attorney General Peter Neronha, while Providence Mayor Brett Smiley acknowledged that ‘the news is likely to cause fresh anxiety for our community.’
Smiley was right, as the news that the shooter is still at large has shaken up the Rhode Island community.
A series of false alarms on the Brown campus, as well as much of providence and other parts of the state, have taken place since the manhunt resumed Sunday night.
Police looked into reports of an armed man at a mall in Warwick early this morning, but nothing came of it.
Theo Coben, 19, a Brown sophomore who sheltered in a bathroom on campus during the shooting, told the New York Times: ‘Everyone’s on edge.’
As of Monday afternoon, FBI agents were actively combing through the Providence area searching for any bit of evidence they could use to further their investigation.
Video taken by Fox News shows agents pushing snow around with their feet as they look for anything the shooter may have dropped.
