Brown University instructor describes horror inside classroom after gunman burst in and started shooting

A Brown University instructor who was leading a final exam review has described the moment of horror that a masked gunman burst into his lecture hall and started shooting.Joseph Oduro, a 21-year-old teaching assistant, told the New York Times that the gunman shouted “something” before opening fire, but he could not tell what.Oduro was wrapping up a review session for Principles of Economics when they heard the shooter outside in the hall.“All of a sudden, we heard gunshots and people screaming,” he said.Within moments, a masked man with a rifle appeared in the doorway and opened fire.Oduro said he and police are still trying to figure out what the attacker said during the shooting.“That’s what the students and I — and the detectives — have been trying to piece together,” he said.Oduro quickly hid behind a desk with around 20 others students.One of them was wounded in the leg.The layout of the lecture hall meant the students in the middle section could not quickly escape the bullets.“The students in the middle were impacted the most,” he said.

“Many of them were lying there and they were not moving.I have no idea how many.”Oduro is a senior at Brown studying applied mathematics, economics, and computer science.

He told the Times that Principles of Economics is a prerequisite for many upper-year courses at Brown and estimates 80 percent of the students enrolled are freshmen.The review session was one of five Oduro offered to students before Tuesday’s final exam.Right before the shooting began, Oduro remembers saying goodbye to his students.“I was telling my students that I am so grateful for them,” he said....