Mayor Urges People To Only Trust Official Sources After Trump Spreads Misinformation About Brown University Shooting

Brett Smiley, the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, urged residents to trust only official sources after President Donald Trump shared misinformation on social media about the mass shooting at Brown University that occured over the weekend.

On Saturday, a shooter opened fire on campus, killing two students and wounding nine others. Authorities identified the deceased as Ella Cook, a second-year student from Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, an Uzbek national in his first year of studies.

The shooting is one of at least 392 mass shootings reported in the U.S. so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Monday was the 349th day of 2025. Authorities are currently searching for the shooter. A person of interest detained in connection with the attack was released late Sunday.

Trump initially claimed in a post on Truth Social that he was "briefed on the shooting" and that "the suspect is in custody." He also offered his condolences to the families of the victims.

@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social

19 minutes later, he "reversed" his initial statement—but did not delete his first post.

@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social

He even claimed to reporters that he'd been "fully briefed" and said people should "just pray" for the families affected by the shooting.

His misinformation prompted criticism from gun control activist Shannon Watts, who said Trump has the gall "to call the shooting a shame even though he opposes every effort to stop gun violence."

Smiley then held a press conference during which he urged people to only trust the updates of Providence officials:

"In this day and age, there is a lot of misinformation that can spread. As it pertains to official updates regarding the shelter-in-place or any future announcements, please follow the official city of Providence social media channels."

"We've also put out updates through our 311 system but the city of Providence on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram will be updating throughout the evening. If that did not come from an official channel then it is not official.

You can hear what he said in the video below.

Other social media users also urged people not to listen to the president, prompting many to criticize Trump's absence of leadership.

Trump—unrepentant as ever—is also facing criticism for claiming that famed film director Rob Reiner had “driven people CRAZY” with his "Trump Derangement Syndrome," referencing the late Reiner's vocal opposition to Trump's policies.

Reiner, 78, and his wife Michelle, 68, were murdered in their Brentwood, Los Angeles, home yesterday afternoon. Reiner's son, Nick, was taken into custody and held on a $4 million bail.

Despite acknowledging in a post on Truth Social that Reiner's murder is "a very sad thing," Trump claimed Reiner was killed "reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS."

Trump suggested Reiner's "paranoia" was "reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before."

Reiner considered Trump an authoritarian threat to democracy and endorsed former President Joe Biden in the 2020 election, which Trump falsely asserted was stolen from him. Trump's claims ultimately culminated in the storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters who acted on the false premise that the election was fraudulent.