Salim Sooner, an emergency medicine doctor at Rhode Island Hospital, said Saturday, Dec. 13, was business as usual.
“It was a busy day. It usually is in the emergency department these days, especially on weekends,” said Sooner, who is the hospital’s director of disaster medicine and emergency preparedness.
But after news of the shooting at Brown University’s Barus and Holley Engineering Buildings, hospital staff became active.
“We have a plan — a disaster response plan or major accident plan — that we put in place where we move existing patients to other parts of the emergency department and free up critical care trauma rooms and staff them with teams, and that’s done very quickly,” Sooner said. “And as the patients came in, each team took care of the patients.”
Law enforcement and EMS respond to a report of an active shooter on the campus of Brown University on December 13, 2025.
Suner is no stranger to such events: He has previously deployed to several disaster sites, including New York during 9/11 and Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. He also responded to The Station Nightclub fire in 2003, one of the deadliest nightclub fires in US history.
Rhode Island Hospital is the state’s only trauma center. Trauma centers are accredited by the Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons. Level One is the highest designation given by the committee. The committee laid out 15-page criteria that hospitals must meet to be designated a trauma center, including 24-7 presence of in-house trauma doctors, neurosurgery staff, vascular surgery and other requirements.
“It’s difficult in many places to have trauma surgeons in-house 24-7. That’s why there are only a limited number of trauma centers in the country,” Sooner said.
Sooner said there are usually only one or two trauma surgeons at home, but working with the trauma chief on Saturday, the hospital was able to bring in 14 operating room teams if needed.
The first step in caring for patients was to control the bleeding — a step that begins with emergency medical technicians, police and fire rescue responding to the incident.
“And then, you know, do we need to determine whether or not an injury requires an operating room, surgical treatment? And then we go from there to our algorithm to identify injuries and mitigate them, treat them,” Sooner said.
“Everything went very smoothly from a medical standpoint,” he added.
The hospital went into lockdown Saturday, meaning entry and exit to the facility was monitored and controlled, standard procedure during shootings.
By 1:15 pm on Monday, the hospital had treated nine people who were injured in the shooting. Out of which the condition of 6 persons is serious but stable, the condition of the seventh is critical, the condition of the eighth is stable and the condition of the ninth has been discharged.
A call for blood donations elicits a significant response
According to the Rhode Island Blood Center, hundreds of Rhode Islanders lined up to donate blood after the shooting at Brown University.
RIBC’s donor centers saw 647 self-booked appointments on Sunday, December 14, compared to 75 on an average Sunday. There were also 78 contact center appointments booked, compared to an average of 41 on a typical Sunday.
“We have been overwhelmed by your response and are very grateful to each and every one of our donors,” RIBC said in a statement. “In the last 24 hours, we have seen a significant increase in appointments. Although our appointment schedule may be very full for the next few days, we encourage you to make an appointment on the next available day.”
RIPC said it has provided more than 120 units of blood, platelets and plasma to Rhode Island Hospital in response to the incident and is prepared to supply additional blood as needed.
Eligible donors are still encouraged to schedule an appointment “to help ensure a strong blood supply in the coming days and weeks.” Type O blood, which is used the most, is the most needed.
RIBC’s Providence Donor Center has extended its hours until 7pm today, December 15th.
“Tragedies like this are a painful reminder that blood should be on the shelf before an emergency strikes,” the RIBC said. “Every donation saves a life.”
This article originally appeared in The Providence Journal: How Rhode Island Hospital Responded to Brown University Shooting
