Rhode Island’s attorney general said at a news conference that the information “opens up this case to a whole new dimension.”
The informant, whom police called only “John,” said he encountered the suspect in a bathroom on the first floor of the building between 1:45 and 2 p.m., about two hours before the first gunshots were reported. John said the man’s clothing was inappropriate for the weather and they made eye contact.
John told police that after the suspect left the building, he followed him to a Nissan with Florida license plates. However, instead of getting into the car, the suspect began walking around the block, with John following him. John described it as “a game of cat and mouse.”
At some point, the two even talked. When John asked, “The car is over there, why are you circling the block?” the suspect responded, “Why are you bothering me?” Afterwards, John left the place.
Providence Mayor Brett P. Smiley told CNN that the Redditor was a Brown University graduate and was pictured in a photo released by police. However, John posted on Reddit on Thursday that while he had provided information to authorities, he was not the person in the photo. Authorities did not provide an explanation for this discrepancy.
“He initially made an anonymous Reddit tip,” Mayor Smiley said. “After we released the photo and let them know we needed to talk to this person, he personally approached a Providence police officer and honestly gave us all the information.” He added: “It was kind of an incredible development and it was critically important to the investigation. We are grateful to him.”
