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Search For Suspect After 2 Killed, 9 Hurt in Brown University Shooting; Trump Vows Retaliation After 2 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Syria; Heavy Rain And Flooding Worsen Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza; Aired 2-3a ET

Aired December 14, 2025 - 02:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[02:00:35]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York. And it's straight to our breaking news coverage of a shooting that took place on Saturday. Police are still searching for the suspect in a deadly shooting at Brown University almost 10 hours since reports of an active shooter first came in.

Authorities released this video late Saturday night, which you can see the suspect walking down a street not far from where the shooting took place, appears to be wearing some dark clothing, his face unfortunately not visible but he's estimated to be in his 30s. And investigators are hoping that someone out there may at least recognize something in this footage and generate a lead or two.

Officials say that at least two students were killed and nine people were injured. A professor telling the New York Times that the shooting started to unfold in a classroom during a final exam review session. A lockdown order, it is still in place for the surrounding community. This map will give you a general sense of the area there in Providence, Rhode Island, the campus quite literally in the middle of that city.

The university says the police officers plan to go into some nonresidential buildings to help escort some of the people who've been sheltering in place back out to safety. And here's what one student told CNN about what went through their mind when they found out that there was a shooting on campus.

ETHAN SCHENKER, BROWN UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I was in the (INAUDIBLE) Library studying for finals with some friends. And I got at about 4:15, I got a text from a friend saying their mom saw something on Facebook. And I looked it up on Twitter. I saw and then kind of two minutes later, I got a text from Brown saying to go on lockdown and lock the doors, stay away from windows, all of those things.

And I immediately just called my parents and my brother to make sure to let them know that I was okay and to make sure my friends are okay. And it just was a little bit -- It didn't kind of seem real. I think that's what a lot of people experienced. SANDOVAL: Let's take you back out live to Providence, Rhode Island,

and CNN's Lee Waldman, who continues to follow this story. Lee, where you are? It is the middle of the night there and still a flurry of activity, not to mention an all-out manhunt that's still going on.

I mean, what are you seeing at this hour?

LEE WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Polo, well, since we last chatted, there was a police car here blocking the street. They've actually moved farther up the street blocking a larger portion of this street with Brown University, part of this campus here behind us. We keep focusing on this building off in the distance with its lights on. That is Barus Hall. You can see a towing truck coming through here right now. That is where authorities say this shooting actually took place, where two students were killed, nine others were hurt.

On the other side of that building there, that's Hope Street where we've seen that small video clip of the person that they think is responsible for this tragedy running out there and then turning right onto Waterman Street. It's just been a constant barrage of police officers coming through this area, combing through on foot. We've seen police canines, we've seen the medical examiner's truck, state police, local police, a lot of activity. Like you mentioned, it's the middle of the night here, but they are not letting up when it comes to their efforts to try and find the person who is responsible for this.

We've seen buses filled with students being taken off of this area of campus to a reunification center not far from where we are right now. We've seen other students walking with their backpacks just trying to get home after saying they were locked into a gym or with other students waiting for that go ahead to be released, saying it was chaos inside of that gym. They didn't want to speak on camera because of everything they went through here. But you know, everyone is traumatized as law enforcement works to try and find this person.

SANDOVAL: Now, that's completely understandable after the nightmare that they experienced, Lee. And so based on your reporting, there really are two very clear efforts that are ongoing thereafter, you know, 10 hours since those shots rang out. That is to find the suspect, as you point out, but then also to potentially retrieve some of these students that could, could spend the night in a library potentially sheltering in place?

WALDMAN: Absolutely. Those are the biggest efforts that we're seeing here, trying to hopefully give those students a chance to sleep somewhere other than a library and also to try and find the person who is responsible to see police officers walking on foot in the snow as it's coming down here, searching this area.

[02:05:09]

The FBI has set up a tip line asking for people to send in their information when it comes to what's happened here if they have any indication of who this person was, a better angle view. We also are hearing from the university officials about these ongoing efforts. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANK DOYLE, BROWN UNIVERSITY PROVOST: This is, as the mayor and the governor pointed out, an unthinkable, unthinkable act, incomprehensible, right? None of us could prepare our kids for this, the parents. We've been in touch with the parents. The President is not here right now because she was at the hospital tending to the students. And she's now at the Nelson shelter in place location.

We've communicated and put the word out to the parents the perimeter that was spoken about earlier as part of the safe approach to managing the campus and getting students back in their dorm rooms. We'll continue to support them. That's our top priority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALDMAN: And Polo, as that sound bite was playing, we see an officer coming through here. Focus on this car. They have a spotlight on the front of their car. They were shining it into the trees that are alongside the Brown University campus here. That just shows you this effort to find this person hasn't stopped, something that stands out to me that the university officials have said the unthinkable has happened here.

I know Polo, you have covered so many of these shootings on school campuses or other places across the country. I have too. And every single time, it's the same thing. I can't believe it happened here. I didn't ever think it would happen here until it did. And it breaks your heart just the same every single time.

SANDOVAL: Yeah. And the heart -- another heartbreaking chapter saw on the horizon. That's when we potentially can learn the identities of these two young students who were only preparing for their exams and then found themselves confronting, or at least face to face with this shooter that's still right now out there.

I want to thank you again and our photojournalist, Bob Crowley for your continuing coverage out there. Thank you, Lee Waldman.

Well, the mayor of Providence explained why the shelter in place order will remain in place until further notice, but assured the city that they can go ahead with their holiday events and routine activities the rest of this weekend.

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BRETT SMILEY, PROVIDENCE RHODE ISLAND MAYOR: We will keep the shelter in place in effect until such time as it has been lifted. It has been very helpful both for the safety and security of our neighbors. But more Importantly, for the investigation that that remain in effect. It has allowed police -- Providence police, Brown police, and all of our partners to canvass the neighborhood, look for evidence, assess if there are additional cameras that may yield video evidence, and to do a visual search to help provide and ensure a sense of safety for our community. Having this shelter in place allows them to do their work in the first phase of the investigation. And so we will notify the community through official Providence channels when the shelter is lifted, but it remains in effect to allow law enforcement to conclude and conduct this chapter of the investigation.

I also want to speak directly to the fact that it is Saturday night. Tomorrow is Sunday, a week before Christmas in a city with a lot of things going on. There are shows, a lot of families will be headed to church in the morning. And we, at this time, are not recommending that those events be canceled. It's a personal choice whether you want to cancel your holiday party, but we do not feel it is necessary.

In the hours that have eclipsed since the initial shooting, we've received no additional credible information that there is any specific ongoing threat from this individual. And so we do not believe these events need to be canceled. We do believe you can safely go to church in the morning.

In order to provide an additional sense of safety and comfort and confidence, there will be an enhanced, invisible law enforcement presence throughout the community tomorrow. We want people to know that there are hardworking men and women in law enforcement there for their protection and safety.

And it's been a blur over the last couple of hours, but I would like to reiterate our deep gratitude for how hard law enforcement is working right now. They will be up and out all night tonight and throughout the day tomorrow, and will remain hard at work until the individual responsible is brought to justice. But tomorrow, on Sunday, you will see police officers throughout the city, and we are receiving and relying on and grateful for the assistance from the state police and our neighboring communities, all of whom have offered to help.

[02:10:01]

We know this is a scary time, but we also know that tomorrow, there are some business that needs to get done. People want to take their kids to church in the morning, and we want them to feel comfortable doing so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Well, joining me now from Providence is Jaden Anselmo, AJ Shamji, and Pavlos Melas, all of them Brown University students. Guys, thank you so much for taking some time to check in with us.

JADEN ANSELMO, BROWN UNIVERSITY STUDENT: Thank you so much for having us. It's been a long day, but appreciate it.

SANDOVAL: I can only imagine and listen. I'm so sorry that we're meeting under these circumstances. We're obviously very relieved that you are at least safe right now.

Jaden, let me start with you. Just tell us a little bit about, you know, are you all technically still sheltering in place. And if so, for how long?

ANSELMO: Yeah. You know, it's an ongoing and evolving situation. We've been getting kind of updates regularly from Brown. But as of right now and I think for the remainder of the night, there's going to be a shelter in place. We've been pretty much on lockdown since 4 p.m. as this was unfolding. And eventually, at around, like, 11:30, almost midnight, police came and escorted us out of the building that we were sheltered in. And we're now at our friend, Pavlos's apartment, and just kind of riding out the night here.

SANDOVAL: Got it. So technically, you guys are now off campus?

ANSELMO: We are, but we're very close. We're right across from. Like, the campus. And we're very close to where we were sheltering.

SANDOVAL: AJ, what are university officials telling you and the rest of the Brown University student community about what could come next?

AJ SHAMJI, BROWN UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I mean, the guidance has been very clear in the sense of, you know, playing it safe, staying locked down, you know, not leaving outdoors unless absolutely necessary. So, you know, in that case, we really appreciate the clarity that they've given us. And we also appreciate the kind of constant police presence that is all the way down Waterman Street and down the street with the intersection at which is where the event actually took place.

So it's very much been about, you know, very clear to stay indoors, constant alerts letting us know what's true, what isn't, and kind of just making sure that we're all on the same page of, you know, staying indoors and staying safe.

SANDOVAL: Yeah, that's really one of the most important things right now as that manhunt plays out.

Now, Pavlos, I'm sorry to make you relive anything that you may have experienced today, but I'm wondering if you could just give us a sense of what it was like. Did you hear anything? Did you see anything earlier, or at least Saturday afternoon?

PAVLOS MELAS, BROWN UNIVERSITY STUDENT: Yeah. I mean, it's, you know, it's a hard day to kind of recount and think about. This morning actually had an exam from 9:00 to 12:00 at MacMillan center, which is right next to -- where Barus & Holley was and where this incident pulled it out. This is kind of a part of campus, which is next to the big library, so there's a lot of students that come and go through most times of the day, especially now with finals and a lot of people studying and exams happening. So a lot of my friends were nearby. I had friends that recounted hearing shooting. I have friends that, you know, have heard different stories of what has happened.

But so far, the information we kind of know, apart from university emails, is, you know, already on their website and it's all kind of public information. So we're as, you know, in the loop as everyone else is, and we're kind of just sheltering his place as instructed, and, you know, hoping everyone's okay. And, you know, we're very sad that this is happening on our campus. SANDOVAL: And on that note, I mean, unfortunately now, Brown

University adds itself to that list of these communities that have been hit hard by gun violence. Can you give me a sense, any one of you guys, can give me a sense of what the mood is like aside from the fear and the uncertainty, obviously I mean, what is the mood among you three and the rest of your fellow students tonight?

ANSELMO: Yeah. I mean, as you were saying, this is something that, you know, you read headlines about, you hear on the news, and you can't ever imagine that it would happen to you. You know, in our community that we love so much, it's -- it was just -- it's been kind of shock the entire day. The past few hours have been a blur.

I think, as you were saying, like, the sentiment of fear, I think, has been very prevalent. I think a lot of us are just also very confused, you know? Where we -- where AJ and I were sheltering, we were only a few blocks down from where this was actually unfolding. But the room we were in was completely pitch black. Everyone was just on their phones, trying to stay as silent as possible. People were crying, you know, checking in on their friends. I think we received so many text messages from our friends and family, like, making sure that we were okay and kind of just -- the whole community, I think, in a very powerful and beautiful way, kind of came together to make sure that everyone was all right.

And it's definitely been -- it's been a super emotional day. And I think fear has kind of been the prevailing sentiment amongst all of us today.

SANDOVAL: And in terms of what you're hearing from the university, have they offered you any sort of help right now to deal with the aftermath of this awful event?

[02:15:09]

MELAS: So far, we've gotten emails. So through the day, we had emails kind of instructing us what to do. Nothing specific yet about counseling. You know, our president sent us an email kind of explaining the situation and, you know, shedding some light and, you know, reassuring us that things will be okay. But apart from that, you know, everything is still very ongoing. You know, I've had some professors reach out, you know, teaching assistants kind of offering emotional support.

But the University has kind of been more strictly kind of navigating as to what we should do through, you know, where we are and kind of shelter in place and protect ourselves.

ANSELMO: And to add to that --

SANDOVAL: Yeah.

ANSELMO: -- I think that, you know, the situation hasn't concluded yet. So I think the university, I'm sure, will offer abundant support after this is kind of all wrapped up. SANDOVAL: Right. Our correspondent there on the ground reporting that

there are two big priorities right now, which is certainly to keep you and the rest of the community safe and then certainly to track down this gunman. But we also heard from Rhode Island's governor say on Saturday that there will come a later stage in which they will review whether Brown University campus buildings were safe enough.

As members of the Brown University campus, when that time comes, what are some of those questions that you would like university officials to answer about how this gunman was able to access the space that you study in?

SHAMJI: I mean, yeah. So Brown's buildings are, you know, great in one sense, the sense that they're open to people to enjoy, not just students. So that's anything from libraries that have infrastructure in place for people to come in. And, you know --

SANDOVAL: Unfortunately, we may have just lost that connection. But our thanks to Jaden Anselmo, AJ Shamj and Pavlos Melas. Gracious enough to be able to spend some time with us and give us an update on what was -- what it was like for them on Saturday. We certainly wish all three of them, as well as the rest of their fellow students and the rest of the faculty at Brown University the best at this ongoing manhunt. And we -- a short while ago, I should also mention that Brown's website posted a map of the area that's under a shelter in place order.

Still ahead here on CNN newsroom, a local reporter explains why many people who are not involved with the University are still being advised to stay at home.

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[02:21:38]

MAN 1: How long were you hiding?

MAN 2: Oh, I think it'll be about two hours or so.

MAN 1: Two hours?

MAN 2: Yeah.

MAN 1: And then how did you know it was safe?

MAN 2: I don't know, because I came receiving the message about all the (INAUDIBLE) news --

MAN 1: Well, when did the -- did the police come and actually open the door?

MAN 2: Because we heard the noise from the police outside --

MAN 1: Okay. MAN 2: -- of (INAUDIBLE). We also received a message that they are

trying to get everyone out --

MAN 1: Okay.

MAN 2: -- to the safety place. So we opened the door and asked them to search our lab and also search our body. And we were asked to get out of the building.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: That was a Brown University student describing what he went through after the deadly shooting on campus. Authorities say the two students were killed and nine people were wounded when a gunman opened fire inside of a building on Saturday afternoon.

Police have so far released a few seconds of this footage of the man who they believe is their main suspect. And it shows him walking. You see him walking relatively calmly down a street just close to where that shooting took place.

As you see there, he's wearing black clothing but his face not visible. Authorities believe that he's likely in his 30s and he is still at large. Authorities want to hear from you if you recognize anything in that footage.

My colleague, Jim Sciutto, spoke with Lynne M. Sullivan late Saturday. She's the regional executive director at The Providence Journal. And she described to us the area around the university that's covered by the shelter in place order right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYNNE M. SULLIVAN, REGIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PROVIDENCE JOURNAL: One interesting thing about Brown University, I think when people think of a college, they may think of a campus that's sort of surrounded by a gate or something like that gotten -- you know, Brown does have, like, a quad and -- but Brown is also very spread out among an area with a lot of residential homes, businesses, the students -- many of the students live off campus. Rhode Island School of Design is right there as well. So this is a large area. It's a lot of people under lockdown.

As we just learned, the Buffalo Bills are still in lockdown in their hotel. The opposing team of the Patriots typically stays in Providence the night before game. So they're there. Many restaurants sort of shut down early for the evening.

One play that was going on, a Christmas play was going on, and that let out early. It's been disruptive to the city for sure. And it's a little scary because, yes, this is a school shooting, but maybe in a different way than some other school shootings. This sort of involved the whole, you know, area, the whole community -- the whole neighborhood in that area.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANDOVAL: And I'm joined live again by Jaden Anselmo, AJ Shamgi and Pavlos Melas, all three of them Brown University students.

Gentlemen, thanks again for joining us before technology cut us off. AJ, right before the break, I was -- I had just asked you what kind of questions you may have for Brown University officials after the Providence mayor said that the exterior doors of the building were unlocked, and the Rhode Island governor then saying that there are certainly going to be questions that have to be answered about the security.

SHAMGI: Yeah. So like I was saying, you know, we as Brown University students very much enjoy the amount of efforts that Brown's, you know, management puts into creating facilities that not only we can use, but that the public can use as well.

[02:25:09]

And, you know, that's certainly something I think we'd all like to be maintained, but I think that there can be a sort of balance between that and still having rigorous security that prevents things like this from happening.

You know, how many cameras do we have? How many people do we have at the doors? You know, what is the process for members of the public to get into these spaces? Those are all questions that I'd like to see answered to make sure that we can continue to enjoy the places and that the public continues to enjoy them as well.

SANDOVAL: And I wanted to give each one of you just a few seconds, perhaps just a final thought, as we still wait to see the outcome of this manhunt and still wait to learn more about the victims of Saturday's tragic shooting. What do you want viewers around the world to know about the Brown University community? How will it overcome this? And Jayden, AJ Pavlos, you can each take turns.

MELAS: Definitely. I could start with this one. So, I mean, I want to first kind of, you know, we want to thank the police, everyone that's helping out, all the support we're getting. And, you know, kind of mentioned how, you know, it's sad to have this in our campus and, you know, have two fellow students, you know, tragically pass away.

But, you know, Brown, you know, what I've noticed, I'm a senior, you know, I've had some time here, is very strong community. It's a community that comes together in times of need. And I think that's something very important for, you know, what we're going through now. This is something, you know, we've seen in the headlines happening in other places, but, you know, would never expect this to happen in your own, you know, school, your campus, your backyard. So I feel that's, you know, something that's definitely going to bring everyone together.

You know, we are a strong community here and I feel we're going to be able to overcome this. But, you know, this is tragic and, you know, this day will always be remembered. You know, it's a very harsh day for us. ANSELMO: Yeah. For me as well, I think, first of all, AJ and I were at lunch when this unfolded. And we saw the rapid effort by law enforcement. The second this happened, I mean, there was cop cars flying down the street out of every side street. You know, we walked by this incident as it was unfolding, and, you know, the police response was immense. And you know, the notifications we've been getting and the assistance from law enforcement has been nothing short of incredible.

So I think we all, you know, at the Brown community, really thank them. And, you know, we're all, you know, grateful to be together. And it's a horrible thing that's happened to this community. But as Pavlos was saying, you know, we all love each other. And you know, we hope that the families that are affected by this horrible, you know, tragic event that's happened are okay. And our thoughts and our prayers and our heart are with all the affected, you know, people from tonight.

SHAMJI: Yeah. And very much to echo the sentiments of Pavlos and Jayden that the prayers and thoughts of everyone outside of Brown's campus, to everyone inside of Brown's campus are being received to a very tight knit, appreciative community that, you know, are doing everything they can to stay safe and very much so that we just appreciate all the positive and warm wishes that are coming from all over the world to us.

SANDOVAL: Yeah. Yeah. In the last years, both in person and virtually, I often tell members of these communities that are hit by senseless gun violence that we are thinking of you all. And we say it too much, but we mean it every time. Jade Anselmo, AJ Shamji, Pavlos Melas, thank you so much for taking the time. We wish you only the best.

ANSELMO: Thank you as well.

SANDOVAL: We'll be right back with more of your breaking news coverage right here on CNN.

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[02:33:18]

SANDOVAL: And we want to welcome back our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York. And we want to get you back to our breaking news story out of Providence, Rhode Island where a shooting at Brown University left two students dead and nine people injured as they were preparing for final exams.

The suspect, he remains on the run at this hour. Officials are telling residents and students to shelter in place. The University says that police officers, they plan to go into some nonresidential buildings to help escort people to safety. Authorities are describing the suspect as a male, estimated to be in his 30s. You see him in this footage seen wearing dark clothing.

The city's mayor says that more than 400 law enforcement officers have responded to the scene and that number is growing with reinforcements coming in. Federal agencies are also assisting in the investigation and that includes the FBI, which has launched a website for people to submit any tips.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED DOCKS, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, FBI BOSTON FIELD OFFICE: We've brought every resource to bear here. We have tactical individuals here. We have investigative. We have intel that also has integrated with the locals here as well. We have also a reconstruction team flying in from D.C. to also be a part of that scene to help -- to figure out maybe what happened there. We have evidence response team here as well.

And so we have the full breadth of the FBI integrated into this team to try to find out what has happened and absolutely bring this individual to justice. When someone messes with this community, I think the mayor and the governor, they stated it very well that we stick together. And so that message will be that for anyone who has committed this heinous act, we will turn over every stone to make sure that we bring this individual to justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And then there's the emotional recovery that has to happen after every one of these awful mass shootings. Dr. Donald Harvin from Georgetown University's Emergency and Disaster Management Program talked about

[02:35:05]

Dr. Donell Harvin from Georgetown University's Emergency and Disaster Management Program talked to CNN about the trauma of a campus shooting, particularly during exam week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONELL HARVIN, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, EMERGENCY & DISASTER MANAGEMENT MASTERS PROGRAM: It's a very tough week for students around the country. And so on this particular campus, these students are actively engaged in taking finals, and then they're going to send them home to their families. Some students don't -- so if you have international students on campus, they may stay on campus. And so the university is in full, you know, preparing for recovery mode. And that requires psychosocial support, pastoral care, making sure there's wraparound services for the victims, the extended victims, which is the entire campus community.

When these things happen, it's not just the individual students and the actual physical victims that are victimized. It's the entire community. And so this university, I'm sure, will be really focused on making sure that all the students, and this is an extended family are taken care of. Those who are going home to their family members, if they send them home with, you know, information on how to look for signs of PTSD, how to, you know, contact someone if they're home during the holidays, if they're having problems, this is just a nightmare. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And as that manhunt continues in Rhode Island, U.S. President Donald Trump is calling on people to pray for the victims of the shooting. He says that he's been briefed on the situation, which he called terrible. For more now, we go to the White House and CNN's Julia Benbrook.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump has been briefed on the shooting at Brown University. He says that he is keeping the victims, all of those involved, in his thoughts and prayers. I want to play you his full remarks as he returned here to the White House Saturday night.

Take a listen.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. President: Well, I've been fully briefed on the Brown University situation. What a terrible thing it is. And all we can do right now is pray for the victims and for those that were very bad hurt, it looks like. And we'll inform you later as to what's happening. But it's a shame. It's a shame. Just pray. Thank you very much.

BENBROOK Vice President J.D. Vance also reacted in a social media post. He said, quote, "terrible news out of Rhode island this evening. We're all monitoring the situation and the FBI stands ready to do anything to help. We're all thinking and praying for the victims tonight."

As far as the federal response goes, FBI Director Kash Patel put out a statement saying that "FBI personnel are on the scene and assisting this evening after the shooting at Brown University and we will provide all capabilities necessary. Please pray for all those involved."

During a press conference Saturday evening, we did hear from the Rhode Island governor who said that he is in contact with various leaders, including those here at the White House.

Julia Benbrook, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And Saturday's mass shooting. It is just the latest example of some of the senseless gun violence, the latest mass shooting to strike a community in the United States. After the break, we'll look at some of the statistics and why authorities are worried about the rising number of these incidents.

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[02:42:33]

SANDOVAL: This video that was taken on Saturday on the Brown University campus, it'll give you a sense of that scramble on behalf of law enforcement to try to respond to that deadly shooting on the campus.

The person that you just saw on that footage was an armed police officer that was running towards the scene. Police have also released the first video of the suspect which shows him near the scene, unfortunately, does not show his face. Investigators say that he killed two people and injured nine others. Those two people who were killed are students. He's still on the run and a massive manta is currently underway. In fact, a shelter in place order that is expected to be -- to remain in effect throughout the night.

And according to the gun violence archive, the United States has seen now 389 mass shootings this year. CNN and the GVA, the Gun Violence Archive, define a mass shooting as one that injured or killed four or more people, not including the perpetrator.

In the first year of the pandemic, when schools were closed, there was a major decline in gun violence on school grounds, as you see in some of these figures. However, that number, it has been steadily increasing year after year. Now, each one of those numbers, they represent lives that have been shattered, each one of the memorials, those young lives who will never return home again.

CNN cross checks the reports of school shootings against school and police accounts as well as media reports. So it gives you a sense of the situation in the United States, a situation that continues to get worse.

Well, the Saturday mass shooting at Brown University is Rhode Island's first school shooting since 2008. And there have been at least 75 school shootings so far this year, and that includes the one at Brown University. This map will give you a sense of where some of those have occur. 43 of those were on college campuses. In all of those incidents, at least 31 people were killed. More than 100 others were injured. And parts of the south and Mid Atlantic, as you see here, they have had a higher rate of school shooting incidents than other parts of the country.

And this is tragically not the first school shooting for Brown University student Zoe Weissman. Zoe's a survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, which happened in 2018. So he's trying to comprehend going through this trauma not once but twice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZOE WEISSMAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I don't think there's a way to comprehend it. I don't think there should be, right?

[02:45:01]

I'm numb, but I'm also really angry. I think the sadness will set in when we, you know, get all the victims identified and find out who we lost as a community. But right now, I'm just angry that there's kids like me in this country who have had to go through this not once but twice.

SCIUTTO: No question. You remember that after Parkland, as has happened after some school shootings, there's a moment of expectation that there might be change, there might be actual action. And too often, it fades, right? It just disappears. I mean, we've had that after Sandy Hook, after Parkland, we had it after Uvalde.

Occasionally, some incremental progress, but nothing seemingly consequential. That has to be frustrating as a victim of this.

WEISSMAN: I can't even put into words how frustrating it is. And I think that the common denominator around all of that is inaction on the part of Congress. I think that we've seen time and time again, Congress has failed to show that they actually care about their constituents. And if they did, they would immediately pass comprehensive gun violence prevention bills.

SCIUTTO: Tell me how you're doing right now, because I've been speaking to students on campus, and as we understand it and as the mayor has described it, there's still a shelter in place. Are you still in a shelter in place, under a shelter in place order?

WEISSMAN: Yeah. So I'm safe in my dorm, but we can't leave our dorms. We can't leave our buildings. So physically, I'm safe. And I've had lots of friends and family reaching out to me.

SCIUTTO: How is your family doing with this? Because, of course, they went through this with you once before. They must be concerned about you tonight.

WEISSMAN: Yeah. The first person I called was my mom, which was the same thing that happened with Parkland. And just seeing her go through those emotions all over again makes me feel so bad for her. And I think it feels like I'm 12 again. And I think it feels like it's 2018 again for my family as well. We're going through the exact same emotions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And we'll continue our breaking news coverage of the shooting at Brown University after a short break.

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[02:51:31]

SANDOVAL: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Polo Sandoval, New York.

We are covering the Brown University shooting that -- and we're going to have much more on that developing story and that ongoing manhunt at the top of the next hour. But we do want to get you caught up on some other significant stories that have been developing over the weekend, including President Trump, who's vowing some very serious retaliation after two U.S. Soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed during an ambush in Syria. U.S. Central Command and the Department of Defense say that the attack

was carried out by a lone ISIS gunman who also wounded three other people during the attack.

According to the Pentagon, the soldiers were operating as part of a regional counterterrorism support mission. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has since confirmed that the attacker was killed by partner forces on the ground. And so far ISIS has not claimed any responsibility for that attack.

Some severe weather in Gaza has already killed at least 14 people, including three children, and that's according to Gaza's health ministry. Many families living in tents and makeshift shelters because of that ongoing conflict, they have been overwhelmed by flooding and exposure. After two years of the war, Gaza's drainage infrastructure, it's basically been crippled and many buildings have been rendered uninhabitable. This is why this is home for so many. Oxfam accusing Israel of blocking access to critical equipment it supplies, a claim that Israel has rejected.

Ro the States now, another wave of arctic air is set to sweep across much of the northern U.S. in the coming days. Just outside of the building that I'm in right now. Well, this is the view with some pretty blinding conditions right now in New York City, where it is currently 3 a.m. Dangerously cold temperatures. It's also going to make things worse and it's expected to send some states plunging to new record lows for this time of year.

Here's CNN's Allison Chinchar with our forecast.

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ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: More than 70% of the U.S. population is expected to see temperatures either at or below freezing at some point over the next seven days. Although most of them, it's likely going to be in the next 48 hours. All of this blue color you see here is where that extreme cold is. And we're not just talking a couple of degrees below normal. In some cases, these areas are 10 or even 15 degrees below where they normally would be this time of year.

Now, we are going to start to see some of those temperatures rebound by midweek, especially across the Midwest. So you see Minneapolis, Chicago and St. Louis, bitter cold still on Sunday and even into Monday. But by the time we get to Tuesday, those temperatures do finally start to warm back up.

Now for the Northeast, you will also see them rebound. It's just going to be a bit more of a delayed effect and adding about an extra day or two before you start to see those temperatures jumping back closer to normal.

As we mentioned, it's a pretty big difference in the temperatures. So that's not just, again, not just 5 or 10 degrees, but even colder than that, which means a lot of these areas could even break some potential records. All of these dots you see here on the map have the potential to break a record temperature because of how cold it is as we finish out the rest of the weekend.

It also means if you have some outdoor plans, it is going to be brutally cold, not just from the temperatures, but also taking into account the very gusty winds in a lot of these places. Take, for example, the Chicago Bears game against the Cleveland Browns. Kickoff is at 12 p.m. on Sunday local time. At the time of kickoff, the temperature will be eight degrees. But when you factor in the wind, it's going to feel like minus eight. And even though it will be warming sort of as we go into the afternoon, those temperatures really aren't going to get that much warmer even by the end of the game.

[02:55:05]

Another thing to note is the Chicago area is going to get snow through the overnight hours tonight and into the early morning, which means if you're going to the game, there's likely still going to be some snow around the area. And it's all from this clipper system. Now, by the time we get to around 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. on Sunday morning, most of that snow is right there along the eastern seaboard. So it will have wrapped up in portions of the Midwest, still kind of lingering across the Northeast, at least through, through the late morning hours. And then finally, that system begins to exit out over the open Atlantic. But you may still have some of those lake effect bands that are still kind of lingering throughout much of the day on Sunday.

In total, once the system finally exits, this is what we are looking at in terms of snow accumulation. Again, you'll see a couple inches right through there in Chicago. Most of these areas, about one to three inches total. The darker purple, that's where you could see three, four or even five inches of snow. And the pink area here, especially in those higher elevations, not out of the question to pick up 6 to even 10 inches of snow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And with that, I'm Polo Sandoval, New York. Appreciate you sticking around for the last hour. My colleague, Ben Hunte picks up our breaking news coverage from Atlanta right after the short break.

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