THIS Brown University Student Is Being Linked To Shooting Who Killed Multiple People, Online Profile Of First-Year Palestinian Refugee Gets ‘Scrubbed’ Amid Manhunt

With police still searching to find the shooter who killed a dozen people at Brown University on December 13, there has been an online frenzy over a first-year Palestinian refugee student whose profile was taken down on the university website. However, the authorities have made it clear that no suspect has been publicly identified to date.

Two Brown University students were killed and nine others were wounded in a classroom during the shooting that caused panic throughout Providence, Rhode Island.

 Over 72 hours after, the attacker is still unidentified and police are urging the people to provide information that will aid the investigation.

Tuesday, an FBI official Kash Patel issued the video timeline of the movements of a person of interest in the case. The face of the suspect is either turned or hidden in all the clips provided by investigators. Law enforcers have merely identified him as a heavy guy of about 5 feet 8 inches, without any other description.

How Mustapha Kharbouch came into the limelight

When the manhunt reached the fourth day, social media started paying attention to Mustapha Kharbouch. After realizing that his student profile was no longer accessible on the website of Brown University, users on the internet tweeted about his potential involvement.

Claims of the deletion of the profile are not independently substantiated by CNN-News18, and the authorities do not in any manner attribute Kharbouch to the shooting. He or any other person has not been identified as a person of interest or suspect by law enforcement agencies.

Kharbouch was found online as a first-year student, who majors in International Affairs and Anthropology and has a specialization in the Middle East.

Screenshots of the profile that is no longer present claimed that he was a third-generation Palestinian refugee born and brought up in Lebanon. In the profile, he also added that he had a scholarship to study at United World College Maastricht and participated in community building and social change activities.

The attention got more attention when certain users on X reported that Brown University was scrubbing mentions of Kharbouch and alleged that several social media accounts associated with him were now missing.

One user wrote, Why has Brown University just removed any reference to Mustapha Kharbouch (a Palestinian activist and a first-year student) off its official web site, just as the FBI is stepping up its search efforts to locate the shooter who killed two and injured nine in the campus violence? One of them alleged that Kharbouch had eloped out of the university and was nowhere to be found.

What did Brown University say?

After the backlash presented online, Brown University released a statement asking not to speculate or target online.

It is necessary to clarify that attacking people may have irreparable damage. Social media and certain news outlets are irresponsible and harmful in spreading accusations and speculation and even dangerous to the safety of people in our community, the university said.

Brown also stated that erasing information online can also be a defensive measure. This is not out of the ordinary as a security measure to go to lengths to ensure the safety of an individual when such an activity takes place even in their online existence. As the law enforcement personnel themselves made very clear on Tuesday afternoon, had there been any connection between the name of this person and the ongoing investigation, they would not only be in pursuit of this person but they would be releasing information to the public.

Attorney General Peter Neronha of Rhode Island further warned against reaching a conclusion through the online activity. In an interview with CNN, he explained that there might be plenty of reasons why a page might be removed and was also warned that randomly calling people by name was a very dangerous path to take.

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