’Things Can Happen’: Trump Faces Backlash Over Brown University Shooting Remarks

“Things can happen.” That was how President Donald Trump put it on Sunday as he spoke at a White House Christmas reception after a deadly shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island. His short line did not sit well with many people who expected a fuller answer from the nation’s leader.

The shooting struck the Barus and Holley building during final exams on Dec. 13. Two students died and nine others were hurt in the attack, which sent students and staff into shelter in place and shocked the campus community.

University officials said the victims were students and that campus life would be paused as the school and the city mourned. Christina Paxson, Brown’s president, told families that the university was offering help and that at least one person had been released from the hospital while others remain in critical but stable condition.

Authorities briefly detained 24 year old Benjamin Erickson of Wisconsin at a Hampton Inn in Coventry early Sunday, but officials later released him after saying available evidence pointed in a different direction and did not justify charges.

At the White House, Trump sought to tie the Brown attack to other violent incidents over the weekend. He mentioned a deadly attack in Australia that targeted a Hanukkah event and the killing of American service members in Syria.

He spoke plainly and moved quickly through his remarks. “Brown University, great school… really one of the greatest schools anywhere in the world,” he said. “Things can happen. So to the nine injured – get well fast; and to the families of those two that are no longer with us, I pay my deepest regards and respects from the United States of America.”

He also addressed the attack in Australia and urged United States Jews to mark their holiday with pride. “We celebrate Hanukkah,” he said, and called the Bondi Beach attack “a purely antisemitic attack.” The president added that the strike on US forces in Syria would be met with a strong response.

Many people found the tone thin and the words too brief. Social posts on X and other platforms showed anger, pain, and blunt mockery from people who wanted more than short phrases. Below are some of the reactions that capture that feeling exactly as they were posted.

The campus was quiet on Sunday as students and faculty gathered for vigils. Staff said counseling was available and that the university would work with local authorities as the investigation moved forward.

Providence leaders praised first responders and asked for calm while investigators piece together what happened. Officials have said that public safety is the top priority and that they will release more details when they can do so without harming the probe.

This moment has reopened old questions about campus safety and gun violence in schools. For students and families, the questions are close and immediate and not solved by short phrases at a party. The grief remains.

Featured image via X screengrab