What we know about the class where the Brown University shooting took place
Story by Antonia Noori Farzan, Providence Journal, December 16, 2025
Providence Police believe that the suspect in Saturday's shooting targeted Brown University, but it remains unclear if the shooter entered a random campus building and opened fire,or had a more specific target in mind.
Student eyewitnesses have said that the shooting took place at the end of an optional review session for an introductory-level economics course known as ECON0110, or Principles of Economics.
The class is taught by Rachel Friedberg, teaching professor of economics. According to her website, it is the most popular class at Brown, and taken by half of all undergraduates.
Friedberg is also Faculty Associate of the Program in Judaic Studies and previously taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research focuses on "outcomes and impacts of immigrants in the United States and Israel," and "the intersection of economics and Jewish studies," according to her online biography.
She told Ocean State Media that she was not present for the Saturday review session, which was led by a teaching assistant, Joseph Oduro. So far, authorities have not given any indication that her class was targeted because she is Jewish, as some online commentators have speculated.
It's unclear if all the students who were shot were attending the review session, or if the shooter opened fire before entering the classroom.
What we know about the class where the Brown University shooting took place
Brown professor says shooting broke out at review session for her class final | WBUR News
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