Rodney Chatman has taken administrative leave after the shooting at Brown University
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Brown University has placed its police chief on leave after a recent shooting that left two people dead and nine others injured.
Vice President for Public Safety and Emergency Management Rodney Chatman has been placed on administrative leave, Brown University President Christina H. Paxson announced Monday. His action comes just over a week after authorities said 48-year-old Claudio Manuel Neves Valente opened fire at the university’s Barus and Holley engineering and physics building on Dec. 13. Five victims remain in Rhode Island Hospital in stable condition.
Former Providence Police Chief Hugh T. Clements was appointed to replace Chatman on an interim basis. Paxson’s decision came as the Department of Education opened an investigation into Brown University regarding possible violations of the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act (Clery Act).
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Visitors pause at a memorial to the victims of the campus massacre, Van Wickle Gate at Brown University, Monday, December 15, 2025, in Providence, RI (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
The Clery Act requires colleges to meet certain requirements related to campus safety and security as a condition of receiving state student aid.
“After the killing of two students at Brown University when a gunman opened fire on the campus building, the Department is starting to investigate Brown to find out if he has fulfilled his responsibility under the law to maintain school security,” said Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
“Students deserve to feel safe at school, and all universities in this nation must protect their students and be equipped with adequate resources to assist law enforcement,” he added. “The Trump Administration will strive to ensure that those receiving federal funding vigorously protect student safety and follow safety procedures as required under federal law.”
Paxson also announced that an “After Action Review” would take place following the mass shooting, and announced several security enhancements for the facility.
According to the most recent data available, Paxson was the second-highest paid Ivy League president in 2023, earning an estimated $3.1 million. His compensation has increased more than 700 percent since 2012, according to data compiled by the Brown Daily Herald.
Safety enhancements include additional security camera coverage, which Barus and Holley will include. Before the mass shooting on December 13.
“As we work towards healing and recovery, our primary focus is growing a successful institution by caring for the mental and social health of all members of our community while demonstrating that Brown is still Brown – a safe, inclusive, caring community of talented students and dedicated academics and staff,” Paxson wrote.
During an earlier news conference, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said there were few or no cameras in the area of the building where the shooting occurred.
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This composite photo made of photos provided by the FBI and the Providence, Rhode Island, Police Department, shows a person of interest in the shooting that occurred at Brown University in Providence, RI, on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (FBI/Providence Police Department via AP)
“So, there is a back part of the building, the old part, and a front part, the new part,” Neronha told reporters. “The shooting happened in the old part toward the back … and that’s the old part of the building, there are few cameras, if any, in that area, I think, because it’s an old building.”
More details about the shooting have already emerged, including:
– A security guard at Brown University said he has seen the suspect about 12 times since November.
– Brown University has retained former Rhode Island US Attorney Zachary Cunha as it prepares for possible indictment.
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A law enforcement officer passes clothing on the sidewalk near the entrance to Brown University, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Providence, RI, during a shooting investigation. (Steven Senne/AP Photo)
Chatman was placed on leave following a report by The Boston Globe, which spoke to a security guard, Derek Lisi, who said he saw the suspect who shot at Barus and Holley a few weeks before the shooting and reported it to the security guard.
“I said, ‘There’s something wrong with this guy, so I have to say something,'” Lisi remembers thinking when she saw the man on Dec. 1 before going on vacation. “I told my friend, ‘I hope it’s not the guy I’ve been seeing. I hope it’s not him.’
A spokesperson for Brown University said it is working with external consultants on other matters.
“Brown routinely works with outside counsel whose expertise aligns with the University’s Office of General Counsel. In this case, we have retained Zachary Cunha, former United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, to assist the University in communicating with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies,” said a Brown spokesperson.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Brown University for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
