Brown University suspect, 24, is NAMED as military-trained Wisconsin man who drove 17 HOURS to Rhode Island earlier than mass taking pictures

The man accused of opening fire at Brown University has been identified as Benjamin Erickson.

The 24-year-old from Wisconsin is accused of carrying out the mass shooting Saturday night at the Ivy League campus that left two students dead and nine people injured, sources told The Washington Post.

CNN reported that Erickson had ties to the military.

Police have not publicly named Erickson as a suspect or charged him in connection to the deadly attack.

The US flag will be flown at half-staff on official buildings across the state as residents mourn the students lost in the mass shooting.

Lowering the flag is a sign of respect and sharing in mutual grief for those impacted by the horror.

The person of interest is believed to have driven from Wisconsin to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island – a journey which would have taken around 17 hours.

As shown on the map below, the journey involved crossing several state borders before landing at the Ivy League campus where the tragedy unfolded on Saturday.

Detectives seized a revolver and a small Glock handgun with a laser sight attached from the Hampton Inn hotel room where the ‘person of interest’ was detained.

Several police and FBI officers entered the room and asked the man inside where he had been on Saturday, and he replied saying he had been in the hotel the entire time, according to CNN.

The man in his 20s detained by police is from Wisconsin, an anonymous law enforcement official told CNN.

He is believed to have driven from the Midwestern state to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island – a journey which would have taken around 17 hours.

The First Lady said she is praying for those impacted by the horrific mass shooting.

She made the remarks beside her husband President Donald Trump, while speaking at a White House Christmas reception.

‘First of all, my thoughts and prayers go to the families of people who lost their loved ones around the world,’ the First Lady said.

‘In this difficult time, we are celebrating here Christmas, and I’m thinking about them, what they’re going through.

‘My heart is with them,’ she added.

The unidentified person who was taken into custody in connection to the deadly shooting does not live in Rhode Island, CNN’s Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller said.

The man is also not a student at the Ivy League and had a car to get to and from campus from the hotel he was staying at.

The hotel, the Hampton Inn in Coventry, is about 20 minutes away from the school, Miller said, according to his sources.

Mayor Smiley announced that the community will be gathering at a local city park Sunday evening.

The event was initially set to showcase the lighting of a Hanukkah menorah and Christmas tree for the holiday season.

Smiley said that will still be done.

‘For those who know at least a bit of the Hanukkah story, it is quite clear that if we can come together as a community to shine a little bit of light tonight, there’s nothing better that we can be doing,’ he said at the press conference.