You know that moment in a press conference when a simple question gets treated like it’s classified nuclear codes? That’s exactly what happened Monday when Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez faced reporters asking about what witnesses say the Brown University shooter yelled right before he opened fire, killing two students and wounding nine others. The gunman burst into the Barus & Holley building Saturday afternoon, and survivors claim he shouted “Allahu Akbar”—the infamous jihadist battle cry—but Perez wasn’t giving an inch. “That’s part of the investigation,” he repeated like a broken record when pressed. When one reporter pleaded that releasing it could help the public identify him—like the Unabomber’s brother recognizing his manifesto—Perez dodged again: “We have to confirm that.” Then, as questions turned to cell phone videos from the scene, Mayor Brett Smiley stepped in and shut the whole thing down.
Video:
The uploaded image from the presser shows Perez at the podium, flanked by officials, with a sea of mics and a “Providence Police” backdrop—his face stone-cold as he stonewalls. It’s been days since the attack, with a person of interest detained and released, the shooter still loose, and Brown’s elite campus on lockdown. Yet the chief’s playing coy on a detail that could be crucial for public safety. Why the secrecy? If it was “Allahu Akbar,” it points to motive—Islamic terrorism—but in woke Rhode Island, admitting that might shatter the “diversity is strength” fairy tale.
This evasion isn’t just frustrating; it’s dangerous. Witnesses heard something significant enough to report it, and in a city crawling with cameras, withholding it feels like protection—for the narrative, not the people. The left’s quick to label anything “Islamophobia,” but when a potential jihadist strikes an Ivy League school, silence reigns. Brown’s history of pro-Palestine protests and anti-Israel rhetoric adds fuel— was this random, or targeted hate?
Perez and Smiley owe answers, not deflections. Two dead, nine scarred—transparency isn’t optional. Voters, demand it before the next “investigation” excuse.
