Brown University shooting suspect identified; linked to MIT professor murder, found dead
Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national and former Brown student, is identified as the gunman in the Brown attack and suspected in the MIT killing; he was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Salem, New…
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Authorities identified the suspect in Brown University’s weekend mass shooting as Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national who investigators say also carried out the murder of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor days later. Neves-Valente was found dead Thursday evening in a storage locker in Salem, New Hampshire, after federal agents breached the unit while pursuing leads in both cases.
Brown University officials said Neves-Valente studied physics there from fall 2000 to spring 2001, took a leave of absence and withdrew in 2003. The Barus and Holley Building, on the eastern edge of campus, hosted a finals-week study session for ECON 0110 when a masked gunman opened fire, killing two students and injuring nine others. The two students killed were Ella Cook of Alabama and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov of Virginia. Investigators have described the suspect as a person of interest in the early days; authorities released images of a masked, stocky man and later identified a second person of interest in the case.
Massachusetts authorities have said Neves-Valente is also suspected in the killing of MIT nuclear physics professor Nuno Loureiro, who was shot Monday at his home in Brookline, about 50 miles from Brown. U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah B. Foley said federal agents breached a storage locker in Salem, N.H., and found Neves-Valente dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The Brown shooting occurred around 4 p.m. Saturday in Barus & Holley Room 166 during an economics review session. A motive remains unclear, and the investigation is ongoing, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley told reporters. The building has long hosted physics and engineering classes, and Brown President Christina Paxson noted that Neves-Valente, as a former student, spent considerable time there during his academic career, though he had no current affiliation with the university.
Detectives initially questioned a person of interest at a hotel outside town but ruled him out as a suspect. Investigators spent days canvassing the surrounding neighborhood for surveillance video, which furnished images of a person of interest—described as a masked, stocky figure around 5 feet 8 inches tall—who walked with an odd gait. Authorities later circulated images of a second person who they said may have information about the case.
Six of the surviving victims remained hospitalized as of Thursday afternoon in stable condition, according to officials familiar with the case.
The surrounding community faced days of uncertainty as students were sent home and the campus reassessed safety protocols in the wake of the shootings. Residents and officials emphasized that the investigation is a joint effort among Rhode Island and Massachusetts authorities, and they urged calm while the case was being examined under multiple jurisdictions.
Authorities described Neves-Valente as a former Brown student who had not maintained any active affiliation with the university for more than two decades. Brown records show he studied physics there from 2000 to 2001, left on a leave of absence, and withdrew in 2003. A contemporaneous employment record indicates a past monitor position at Portugal’s Instituto Superior Técnico, from which the suspect was terminated in 2000.
As investigators pursue a fuller timeline of Neves-Valente’s movements, officials stressed that the motive for the Brown University attack remains undetermined and that the investigation would continue across state lines. The deaths of Cook and Umurzokov, and the fatal shooting of Loureiro in Massachusetts, have prompted a broader review of security measures at universities in the region and heightened attention to the potential cross-institutional connections.
The case has drawn national attention, with federal and local agencies coordinating to determine whether the same individual carried out both the Brown and MIT assaults and to understand what, if any, broader threats may exist. Authorities urged any members of the public with information or footage from the vicinity of Barus & Holley or Loureiro’s residence to come forward as the investigations proceed.