A shooter dressed in black killed at least two people and wounded nine others at Brown University during final exams on the Ivy League campus, authorities said, and police were searching for the suspect.
University President Christina Paxson said she was told that 10 people who were shot were students. Another person was injured by fragments from the shooting, but it was not clear if the victim was a student, she said.
Officers scattered across the campus and into a neighbourhood filled with stately brick homes, searching academic buildings, backyards and porches for hours after the shooting erupted on Saturday (local time).
The suspect was a male in dark clothing who was last seen leaving the engineering building where the attack happened, said Timothy O'Hara, Deputy Chief of Police.
Video from the building showed the suspect leaving, but his face was not visible, O'Hara said. Some witnesses reported that the suspect, who could be in his 30s, may have been wearing a camouflage mask, he said.
Investigators were not yet sure how the shooter got inside the first-floor classroom. Outer doors of the building were unlocked, but rooms being used for final exams required badge access, Providence's mayor said.
Two killed, nine injured in 'terrible' Ivy League university shooting - Watch on TVNZ+
Authorities believe the shooter used a handgun, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorised to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Rhode Island has some of the strictest gun laws in the US. Last spring the Democratic-controlled Legislature passed an assault weapon ban that will prohibit the sale and manufacturing of certain high-powered firearms, but not their possession, starting next July.
"The unthinkable has happened," Democratic Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee said, who vowed that all resources were being deployed to catch the suspect.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said a shelter-in-place was in effect for the area and encouraged people living near the campus to stay inside and not to return home until it is lifted.
“The Brown community’s heart is breaking, and Providence’s heart is breaking along with it,” Smiley said.
Emma Ferraro, a chemical engineering student, was in the engineering building's lobby working on a final project when she heard loud pops coming from the east side.
Once she realised they were gunshots, she darted for the door and ran to a nearby building where she waited for a couple of hours.
Nine people with gunshot wounds were taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where one was in critical condition, said Kelly Brennan, a spokesperson for the hospital. Six required intensive care but were not getting worse, and two were stable, she said.
University officials initially told students and staff that a suspect was in custody, before later saying that was not the case and that police were still searching for a suspect or suspects, according to alerts issued through Brown's emergency notification system.
The mayor said a person preliminarily thought to be involved was detained but was later determined to have no involvement.
Nearly five hours after the shooting, officers in tactical gear led students out of some campus buildings and into a fitness centre.
The shooting occurred in the Barus & Holley building, a seven-storey complex that houses the School of Engineering and physics department. According to the university's website, the building includes more than 100 laboratories, dozens of classrooms and offices.
Engineering design exams were underway there when the shooting occurred.
Brown senior biochemistry student Alex Bruce was working on a final research project in his dorm directly across the street from the building when he heard sirens outside and received a text about an active shooter shortly after 4pm (local time).
"I'm just in here shaking," he said, watching through the window as a half-dozen armed officers in tactical gear surrounded his dorm.
He said he feared for a friend who he thought was inside the engineering building at the time.
Students in a nearby lab hid under desks and turned off the lights after receiving an alert about the shooting, said Chiangheng Chien, a doctoral student in engineering who was about a block away from the scene.
Mari Camara, 20, a junior from New York City, was coming out of the library and rushed inside a taqueria to seek shelter. She spent more than three hours there, texting friends while police searched the campus.
"Everyone is the same as me, shocked and terrified that something like this happened," she said.
US President Donald Trump told reporters that he had been briefed on the shooting and "all we can do right now is pray for the victims".
"It's a shame," he said in brief remarks at the White House.
The FBI said it was assisting in the response.
Brown, one of the nation's most prestigious colleges, has roughly 7300 undergraduates and more than 3000 graduate students. Tuition, housing and other fees run to nearly US$100,000 per year, according to the university.
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