Police tracked the suspect in the Brown University shooting after an online tip surfaced on Reddit, authorities said, and found the suspect dead in Salem, New Hampshire. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha and Providence officials credited a local Reddit user’s lead that helped link the suspect to a rental car and narrow investigators’ search. The case highlighted how a blend of traditional policing, neighborhood tips and pervasive surveillance camera networks intersected in a campus manhunt. The episode underlined practical challenges for campus safety teams: the shooter slipped unnoticed into surrounding neighborhoods and defeated many automated surveillance efforts by masking his face and switching plates. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and the FBI encouraged public cooperation while urging caution about amateur online sleuthing. Universities should expect increased scrutiny of perimeter security, local law‑enforcement coordination, and the role of civilian tips in rapid-response investigations. For higher-education administrators, the investigation raises urgent operational questions: how to accelerate evidence-sharing with municipal agencies, how to brief campus communities without compromising active investigations, and how to manage the reputational fallout after violent incidents. The case also revived debate over the limits and liabilities of open-source sleuthing versus official channels during campus emergencies.