Autopsy confirms suicide of Brown University/MIT shooting suspect, died days before body found
New Hampshire autopsy establishes cause and date of death for Claudio Neves Valente; investigators continue to examine movements and potential connections to the two shootings while seeking a motive.
An autopsy confirmed that Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, the suspect in the Brown University mass shooting and the fatal shooting of MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro, died by suicide days before his body was found in a New Hampshire storage unit, authorities said Friday. The examination by the New Hampshire Department of Justice Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the manner of death as suicide and the cause as a gunshot wound to the head. Based on forensic findings and investigative information available to date, investigators estimate Valente died on Tuesday, Dec. 16, and his body was discovered Thursday evening in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire.
The Brown University attack unfolded on Dec. 13 during a finals-week study session in the Barus & Holley Engineering Building, killing two students and wounding nine others. The MIT killing occurred on Dec. 15 at the home of Nuno Loureiro, a professor in the Nuclear Science and Engineering department at MIT. Federal investigators recovered two 9 mm pistols in New Hampshire near Valente’s body. The ATF and FBI, working through the Connecticut State Police forensic laboratory, positively matched one pistol to the weapon used in the Brown shooting, and the second gun to Loureiro’s killing.
Brown University President Christina Paxson said Valente was a Portuguese national and a former Brown student who studied physics from the fall of 2000 through the spring of 2001 before withdrawing from the program in 2003. He had no current affiliation with the university at the time of the campus attack. Paxson noted that, during his time as a student, he likely spent a great deal of time in the Barus & Holley Building as a Ph.D. candidate in physics.
Neves Valente was found dead Thursday evening after law enforcement officers breached a storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire, where he was believed to be hiding. Authorities said he acted alone in both attacks. During the investigation, law enforcement canvassed neighborhood surveillance video, released images of a person of interest, and initially questioned but later ruled out another individual before identifying Neves Valente as the suspect. The two Brown students killed were Ella Cook of Alabama and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov of Virginia. Several surviving victims remained hospitalized in stable condition.
FBI agents are also in Florida, where he reportedly last lived, as investigators continue tracing his movements, including credit-card transactions in the days leading up to the attacks. Authorities have not found writings or documents indicating a clear motive for the shootings. The investigation remains ongoing as investigators review security footage and federal records to piece together the timeline.
The case continues to be handled as a joint federal and state investigation, with authorities emphasizing that Valente acted alone in both shootings and that no immediate connections to a broader group have been identified. As investigators sift through digital and financial records, law enforcement officials urged the public to avoid speculation about motive until more information becomes available.
