A 'small place' copes with unimaginable tragedy

At a snow-swept outdoor vigil Sunday night for the victims of the Brown University shooting, the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, edged sideways through the crowd, clapping people on the shoulder and getting clapped right back, looking more like a favorite nephew at a family gathering.

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The shooting Saturday, which killed two students at the Ivy League school and injured nine, brought a rare national spotlight to Providence, a place that operates almost like a city-state in the tiny and quirky state of Rhode Island.

It also thrust Brett Smiley, a lowkey mayor with a reputation as technocratic, into a high-profile role as the community’s steadying hand in a turbulent crisis. At televised news conferences, Smiley has seemed determined to deliver what he calls verified information mixed with empathy for his shaken residents.

“T think my job in the days to come is to help our community heal, to process the trauma that they’ve been through,” said Smiley, a trim, bespectacled 46-year-old who has held the job for three years.