A Singapore permanent resident was just two minutes away from where a shooting took place at Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, United States on Dec. 13.

He was scheduled to attend a class that day in the same building, but did not go.

This stroke of luck meant that he remained unharmed and is currently safe under lockdown in his dormitory.

According to media reports, the shooting took place on Dec. 13 at the Barus & Holley building, which houses the Ivy League university's engineering and physics departments.

The university sent an emergency alert at 4.22 pm local time (5.22 am SGT) reporting"an active shooter near Barus and Holley engineering, CNN reported.

Lockdown

Mothership spoke to the student, who wished to remain anonymous, at about 4 pm SGT on Dec. 14.

He shared that he is currently safe in his dorm while he has other friends still in an evacuation area.

The school is slowly releasing students from the area once a parent or guardian comes to fetch them, or the school staff may accompany them back to the dorm, he said.

The lockdown is still going on, as the shooter remains at large.

Close shave

The second-year student shared that everything felt"surreal and fake".

It is currently the exam season, and he was busy studying for exams when he received a text about"shots fired near the science library".

"At first you thought the hell is this guy talking about then all of a sudden it’s all over the media and everyone is texting you that," he said.

He also made a fortunate realisation that the shooting had happened during the review section, which he had skipped.

"Luckily I was lazy today and did not go for the review section. If not I would be there in that exact room where the shooting took place," he said.

"Maybe it was a stroke of luck, maybe it was God who knows. I'm just grateful I wasn’t there."

He also expressed sorrow over the death of the two students and those in critical condition at the hospital.

"Their parents were probably really excited for them to come home for Christmas," he added.

Brought friends to dorm

The student shared that he was born and raised in Singapore and had served in the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) during his national service.

He said his training likely kicked in once he realised two of his friends were stuck at a public building nearby and had no idea what to do.

"I wasn’t sure if it was adrenaline or that SCDF instinct that took over but I ran to the building my friends were at with a knife in my pocket and escorted them to my room where we barricaded ourselves, off the lights and stayed silent," he shared.

The three of them have remained in the dorm since, and luckily have access to food and water in the dorm.

Singapore community bands together

The student also shared that the Singapore community at the university reached out via chat groups and constantly shared information and updates about the situation.

The wider university community at Brown has also been amazing, he shared.

He said that"so many parents of my teammates who live nearby are offering their homes if we do want to evacuate".

But for the student, one big question remains — who is the shooter?

At the time of writing, the shooter has yet to be apprehended.

The shooter was described as a male dressed in all black, and was spotted leaving from the Hope Street side of the Barus & Holley engineering and physics building.

"What just scares me is how the suspect is not caught yet, and it could be anyone, even someone in my dorm who is a student. I do not know who to trust at this point," he said.