A group of second-year master’s students at Brown University says the school should not be blamed for the on-campus shooting that killed two and injured several others.

The students, who live on and near campus and work on the east side of Providence, RI — near Brown — tell TMZ … they don’t agree with one narrative being spun that the Ivy League school is somehow to blame for the mass shooting.

Instead, the students say gun control and lack of access to mental health services are the real issues here … and they say there’s nothing Brown can do to control those things.

What’s more, the students say there are overarching problems that need to be dealt with at the federal level … and they feel they weren’t the only school or group of students that’s feeling the brunt of gun violence and mass shootings.

The students say there needs to be tough conversations about gun control policies … and they want to see investments made into making mental health facilities more accessible.

Law enforcement says former Brown student Claudio Manuel Neves Valente was the gunman … and the students we talked to say Brown shouldn’t be held at fault for a former student who harbored hate in his heart for those alongside him.