Brown University shooting reveals major gap in Providence’s $1M ‘real time crime center’
The shooting at Brown University exposed a major gap for a recently-opened “real time crime center” in Providence that costs over $1 million, but didn’t include surveillance video from the college campus.
Two people were killed and nine others were injured during a shooting at Brown University at around 4 p.m. Saturday at the Barus and Holley engineering building. Officials said a person of interest was initially taken into custody, but was later released after evidence didn’t indicate he was involved.
Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook were killed in Saturday’s shooting. Cook, 19, was the vice president of the Brown University College Republicans.
In August, the City of Providence, where Brown University is located, announced it had launched a “real time crime center” that has access to hundreds of surveillance cameras — but none at the Ivy League institution.
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“Since my first year as Mayor, elevating public safety in every neighborhood has been my top priority. This investment in Providence’s Real Time Crime Center strengthens our ability to protect neighborhoods and improve quality-of-life for everyone in Providence,” Mayor Brett Smiley said when he announced the center’s launch.
The “real time crime center” was funded with a $1 million grant from the federal government. Providence also agreed to pay Axon Fusus $750,000 to run the system through 2028, which could be extended, according to the Rhode Island Current.
Providence Police Department Detective Maj. David Lapatin told the Providence Journal that the newly built center didn’t include any video feeds at Brown University when the shooting took place.
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Additionally, Lapatin said the crime center didn’t have access to any camera feeds from homes located close to the shooting.
Eric O’Neill, a cybersecurity expert and former FBI operative, told Fox News Digital it would have been helpful if Brown University allowed the crime center to use their security camera feeds.
“It certainly would have been nice if Brown had subscribed to the data center because my understanding is that there’s real-time monitoring, which would have meant that someone would have seen the activity on the cameras and perhaps law enforcement could have been alerted earlier,” O’Neill said.
Police have released several videos and images of a person of interest, but haven’t yet identified or arrested the individual.
Fox News Digital reached out to Brown University and the City of Providence for comment.
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