Brown University shooter manhunt hampered by lack of surveillance video, source says

The lack of usable surveillance video is significantly hampering the search for the Brown University shooter, a source briefed on the investigation told CBS News on Wednesday. 

Investigators have reviewed available video from near the scene, but the footage obtained so far only shows the suspect walking along a street. The footage does not clearly identify the individual or show where the person went after the shooting, the source said. 

Police have requested that residents in the area share any videos or photos that may show the suspect and authorities widened their request for such materials on Thursday. Investigators are specifically looking for footage that could show the suspect entering a vehicle, apartment or residence in the moments after the shooting.  

Law enforcement officials believe that kind of imagery could provide the missing link needed to narrow their search for the suspect, establish a direction of travel or identify associated locations. 

The gunman killed two students and injured nine others who were studying for finals on Saturday evening. Police have shared multiple videos and images of someone they described as a person of interest in the area hours before the shooting. The person in the footage was dressed in all black and wearing a face covering, but could not be identified. The FBI described the person as being about 5-foot-8 with a stocky build. 

A video released on Tuesday, though blurry, was the clearest picture of the person of interest released so far. The image appeared to be digitally enhanced. 

John Mulvaney, an FBI veteran of 26 years and the managing director of CBIZ Forensix Consulting Group, told CBS News Boston the footage appeared to show the person of interest “casing the neighborhood.” That behavior could lead to the person’s identification, he said. 

“I think this person is somewhat unsophisticated, and somewhat oblivious to the fact that he’s being captured on all of these individual security cameras,” Mulvaney said.

Brown University said Wednesday that the campus has “an expansive network of security cameras,” but noted that the devices “do not extend to every hallway, classroom, laboratory and office across the 250+ buildings on campus.”

“Brown has heightened security on campus considerably in recent days, and we will do a large-scale systematic security review of the entire campus. We know we live in a different time,” the statement said.

The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the shooting.