Benjamin Erickson, the 24-year-old who authorities apprehended in connection with the mass shooting at Brown University, was released from custody, authorities announced during a surprise press conference late Sunday night.
A 24-year-old man who authorities apprehended in connection with the Brown University mass shooting was released from custody and the real gunman is still at large, authorities announced during a surprise press conference late Sunday night.
Benjamin Erickson was cuffed just before dawn on Sunday at a Hampton Inn hotel near Brown University — but now investigators are saying they had the wrong guy.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha explained that it was “difficult” to develop evidence and track down leads in the immediate aftermath of the shooting Saturday, in which two students were killed and another nine injured.
“This is what these investigations look like. Sometimes you head in one direction, sometimes you regroup and go in another,” Neronha said.
One of the leads they developed led them to Erickson, who authorities only referred to as a “person of interest.
