Tragic Conclusion to Brown University Shooting Suspect Search

Fri Dec 19 2025 12:39:22 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The search for the suspect in the recent Brown University mass shooting led to a New Hampshire storage facility, where the suspect was found dead. Claudio Neves Valente is suspected of multiple shootings, including that of an MIT professor.

Claudio Neves Valente, 48, was discovered dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a New Hampshire facility after being sought for the Brown University mass shooting that left two students dead and nine others injured. Valente is also linked to the killing of MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro. Officials are investigating the motives behind these tragic events, while survivors continue to recover.

A frantic search for the suspect in last weekend’s mass shooting at Brown University ended at a New Hampshire storage facility where authorities discovered the man dead inside and revealed he was also suspected of killing a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor.

Claudio Neves Valente, 48, a former Brown student and Portuguese national, was found dead Thursday night from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Providence police chief Col. Oscar Perez.

Valente is believed to have fatally shot two students and injured nine others in a Brown lecture hall last Saturday, followed by the killing of MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro in his Boston suburb home two days later.

President of Brown University Christina Paxson stated that Valente had attended the institution as a graduate student studying physics from fall 2000 to spring 2001, but had no current affiliation.

Neves Valente and Loureiro had a shared academic background; both were enrolled in the same program in Portugal from 1995 to 2000. Investigators stated they are unclear about Valente's activities from 2001 until he obtained a green card in 2017, with his last known residence being Miami.

After announcing the suspect's identity, President Donald Trump suspended the green card lottery program, which had allowed Valente to stay in the U.S.

Authorities remain puzzled about Valente's motives, with Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha stating there are still many unknowns regarding the choice of targets.

Investigative Breakthrough

The FBI had previously stated that they were unaware of any links between the Rhode Island and Massachusetts shootings. A crucial tip from a witness who had encounters with Valente led investigators to him.

After police disseminated security footage of a person of interest, a witness—known as “John” in a Providence police affidavit—recognized Valente and shared his suspicions via Reddit, ultimately informing the FBI.

The tip directed police to Valente's rental car, enabling them to use a network of street cameras to track his movements to an apartment near Loureiro's residence, and finally to the storage facility where he was found.

Victims' Legacy

Among the victims, Loureiro, 47, was a renowned physicist and the leader of MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center, while the deceased students were identified as 19-year-old Ella Cook and 18-year-old MukhammadAziz Umurzokov. Cook was an active church member and political organizer, and Umurzokov, whose family immigrated from Uzbekistan, aspired to be a doctor. The condition of the injured students has shown improvement, with three discharged and six stable.

Investigators are examining the circumstances of the shootings amidst tight security around the university. Brown officials revealed that older sections of the engineering building have fewer surveillance cameras, which may have contributed to the lack of security footage capturing the incident.