“The Department is initiating a review of Brown to determine if it has upheld its obligation under the law to vigilantly maintain campus security,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said.
The Brown University Police Chief has been placed on leave as the Trump administration has now opened up an investigation into the deadly shooting that took place at the school. The shooting committed by Claudio Neves Valente took the lives of two students and injured several others.
Vice President for Public Safety and Emergency Management Rodney Chatman being placed on leave "effective immediately" also comes after a custodian said that he had warned security about the suspect weeks before the attack took place. Five of the victims who were injured in the shooting remain at the hospital in stable condition.
Brown University President Christina H. Paxson announced the temporary removal of Chatman on Monday, replacing him with former Providence Police Department Chief Hugh T. Clements on an interim basis. The move from Paxson comes as the Department of Education has opened an investigation into Brown University over the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act for potential violations. The act has certain requirements for safety and security on college campuses that are a condition for universities to receive federal aid.
"After two students were horrifically murdered at Brown University when a shooter opened fire in a campus building, the Department is initiating a review of Brown to determine if it has upheld its obligation under the law to vigilantly maintain campus security," Education Secretary Linda McMahon said. "Students deserve to feel safe at school, and every university across this nation must protect their students and be equipped with adequate resources to aid law enforcement. The Trump Administration will fight to ensure that recipients of federal funding are vigorously protecting students’ safety and following security procedures as required under federal law."
In the aftermath of the shooting, there were virtually no sharp images of the suspect's face that were taken on university cameras. Additionally, the Rhode Island Attorney General said that there were no cameras that captured the shooting because the part of the building where it took place was older.
Since the shooting, Brown University has brought former US Attorney for Rhode Island Zachary Cunha in on retainer as the school prepares for lawsuits, and a custodian at the college said he saw the gunman on campus nearly a dozen times on campus starting in November. The custodian, Derek Lisi, told the Boston Globe that he had alerted security to the suspect. "I said, ‘Something’s off with this guy, so I gotta say something,’" Lisi recalled when he said he saw Valente on December 1.
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