US police renew their manhunt for university shooter

Residents near Brown University back on edge as 'person of interest' is released

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Police officers were going door-to-door on Dec 15 seeking footage from home surveillance cameras as investigators renewed a manhunt for the gunman who killed two students and injured seven more in a classroom at Brown University.

The search for the suspect, which included posting new video footage of the possible shooter, resumed after the authorities released a man they had detained over the weekend as a "person of interest".

The news that the gunman remained at large put Providence back on edge, though officials said there were no credible threats to the community and that they would not reimpose a shelter-inplace order for the campus and the surrounding area that had been lifted earlier.

"People are very confused and nervous," real estate agent Sue Erkkinen said. "We are staying indoors. We have all been glued to the TV, and it looks like the manhunt is now back on."

Providence police chief Oscar Perez told reporters at an evening press conference that law enforcement was trying to reassure residents by keeping a visibly high profile in the community.

He played three short video clips from home surveillance footage of the suspect, a man of stocky build dressed in a dark jacket, hat and face mask, walking through the College Hill neighbourhood near campus about two hours before the shooting.

One clip showed him pacing along a white picket fence, another crossing a street corner, and a third walking past a gated home. Two still photos of him on a pavement were also shown, but the man's face was obscured by the mask he wore.