Hold onto your hats, folks—FBI Director Kash Patel has stumbled into yet another public relations quagmire with a botched arrest following a tragic shooting at Brown University.

This disaster unfolded after a horrific mass shooting at Brown during a Saturday afternoon economics exam review, claiming two young lives—including 19-year-old Ella Cook, vice president of the university’s Republican club—and injuring nine others, only for the FBI to detain and then swiftly release the wrong suspect under Patel’s watch, the Daily Mail reported.

At around 4 p.m. on Saturday, chaos erupted at Brown University when a shooter opened fire, leaving a campus community reeling from the loss and injuries.

Wrong Suspect Detained and Released

The FBI, under Patel’s leadership, zeroed in on a 24-year-old Army sniper as a person of interest, using what Patel boasted on X as cutting-edge cell phone tracking to apprehend him at a Rhode Island hotel.

But here’s the kicker: within hours of the arrest—and after police leaked the soldier’s name and photo to the press—the suspect was released, with Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha admitting the detainment was a mistake.

Now, 48 hours after the tragedy, the FBI is back to square one, forced to re-examine every shred of evidence while the real shooter remains at large.

Patel's History of Hasty Announcements

This isn’t the first time Patel, often dubbed “Keystone Kash” for his premature announcements, has jumped the gun—remember the Charlie Kirk assassination case where he claimed a suspect was in custody, only for the wrong person to be released and the real culprit, Tyler Robinson, caught two days later?

Or how about late October, when Patel trumpeted a thwarted terror plot in Michigan, despite not all suspects being detained, potentially tipping off those still on the run, as critics pointed out?

These missteps aren’t just embarrassing; they’re dangerous, undermining trust in an agency that should be a bedrock of national security, not a platform for social media victory laps.

Public and Political Backlash Grows

Over the weekend, even President Donald Trump had to backtrack on Truth Social, clarifying that “the suspect is NOT in custody” after initially echoing Patel’s flawed announcement.

Social media erupted with frustration, one X user sharply noting, “So Kash Patel provided the tip to the police about the person of interest; posted about it on Twitter; did a full victory lap over it; and then the suspect is released less than 24 hours later and the shooter remains at large.” That’s a brutal summary of an operation that looks more like a circus than a federal investigation.

Former FBI Special Agent Steve Moore told CNN, “You pretty much have to throw out, not the evidence, but the conclusions from the evidence… And you start, basically, as if you’re seeing the evidence for the first time.” Talk about a do-over—except lives are on the line, and time isn’t on our side.

Scrutiny Over Patel's Leadership Intensifies

Patel’s track record keeps getting uglier; back in September, Democratic lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee tore into him over the Kirk case and his decision to fire dozens of agents, with Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett pointing out the FBI only nabbed Robinson thanks to a parental tip.

Then there’s the personal conduct probe—allegations of misusing an FBI Gulfstream jet for trips like attending his girlfriend’s concert at a Penn State wrestling match or a luxury hunting getaway in Texas aren’t exactly the optics of a focused leader.

While Patel may shrug off criticism with a defiant “I don’t give a damn what they say about me as long as I’m succeeding in the mission,” conservatives who value law and order must ask: is this the steady hand we need at the FBI, or are we watching a pattern of reckless bravado that risks more than just reputation?