Two Killed in Brown University Shooting, Sidechat Key in Response

A gunman opened fire inside an academic building on the Brown University campus in Providence, Rhode Island, on December 13, killing two students and wounding others during finals week, as an analysis of student communications reveals the critical role social media played in real-time crisis response.

The shooting began around 4 p.m. in the Barus and Holley building, prompting crowds to flee the area. Students turned to Sidechat, an anonymous messaging platform popular on U.S. college campuses that requires a verified university email for access, to share updates and seek safety information. Described in some accounts as the college's stream of collective consciousness, Sidechat typically hosts lighthearted posts about daily life, such as complaints about cafeteria meals or exam stress. That afternoon, however, the feed shifted dramatically. At 4:06 p.m., one user asked, "Why are people running away from BH?" Four minutes later, another warned, "STAY AWAY FROM THAYER STREET NEAR MACMILLAN 2 PEOPLE JUST GOT SHOT IM BEING DEAD SERIOUS."

These posts preceded the university's official active shooter alert by 15 minutes, sent at 4:21 p.m. to approximately 20,000 recipients. By then,...