Suspect in Brown University and MIT shootings found dead, authorities say

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The man suspected in the killings at Brown University and the death of an MIT physics professor has been found dead in a New Hampshire storage facility, authorities said Thursday. Rhode Island and other officials said the two shootings are connected and identified the suspect as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national. Investigators said Valente died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound and that two firearms and a satchel were recovered near his remains.

The discovery closes a five-day manhunt that spanned federal, state, and local agencies after a shooter opened fire during a final exam study session at Brown, killing two students and wounding nine others. Authorities previously detained a person of interest who was later released. U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha described the investigation as one of the speediest and most coordinated manhunts in the region in recent memory, while cautioning that the motive behind the Brown attack remains unclear.

Tracing the timeline, investigators laid out last steps in a public briefing. Valente, who had a prior residence listed in Florida, rented a hotel room in Boston between Nov. 26 and Nov. 30 and, on Dec. 1, leased a gray Nissan Sentra with Florida plates from a Boston rental agency. Law enforcement said the car was observed intermittently from Dec. 1 through Dec. 12 in the Brown University area in Rhode Island. On Dec. 13, the suspect allegedly opened fire at Brown during a study session, killing Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman. Nine others were wounded in the attack.

Following the Brown shooting, Valente traveled roughly 80 miles north to Brookline, Massachusetts, where MIT physics professor Nuno Loureiro lived. Neighbors reported loud sounds at the home around 9 p.m. local time on Dec. 15. Loureiro, 47, was found wounded and later died in a hospital. The Norfolk County district attorney’s office said he had been a director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center and held a PhD from Imperial College London.

Authorities said Valente then moved on to a storage facility in Salem, N.H., where he died the following day. Investigators recovered two firearms and a satchel near his body. Rhode Island Attorney General Neronha said at a Thursday press conference that investigators were 100% confident Valente was the target in both shootings and that the case was closed from the perspective of pursuing individuals involved. He stressed that investigators still do not have a confirmed motive for the Brown attack.

Officials also connected Valente to the academic world that intersected with the Brown and MIT cases. Brown University’s president, Christina Paxson, said Valente was enrolled at Brown from the fall of 2000 to the spring of 2001 in the Master of Science/Ph.D. physics program and took a leave of absence in April 2001 before withdrawing in July 2003. Paxson noted that most of the physics classes at Brown likely took place in the same building where the shooting occurred. Attorneys general and federal authorities indicated Valente had attended the same Portugal-based academic program as Loureiro between 1995 and 2000, suggesting a prior acquaintance between the two men.

Valente’s journey to the United States began in 2017 when he moved here through a diversity visa lottery program, according to Homeland Security officials quoted by officials. The notes include a contemporaneous reference to U.S. policy actions surrounding the program, including a statement attributed to a state attorney general about pausing the diversity visa lottery to reassess the program’s effects. The exact implications of these policy notes for Valente’s case were not described by prosecutors as part of the briefing.

Two Brown University students were killed in the Dec. 13 attack. Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore from Alabama, studied French and Mathematics-Economics and served as vice president of Brown’s College Republicans. Her family and supporters described her as generous and brave, with a heart as large as the sun, and noted her leadership within the campus Republican community. Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, was an incoming freshman studying biochemistry and neuroscience. His sister spoke publicly about his resilience and hopes for a future as a neurosurgeon. The GoFundMe page set up by family and supporters described him as determined to pursue his goals and to help others.

The MIT victim was Nuno F. Gomes Loureiro, a 47-year-old nuclear science and engineering professor who led MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center. Loureiro earned a PhD in physics from Imperial College London in 2005 and previously worked at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. A local resident described Loureiro as a family man who had a young child, highlighting the personal tragedy behind the campus loss. MIT officials mourned the professor’s passing and noted his leadership within the plasma physics community.

Officials emphasized the difficulty of fully explaining Valente’s motive, with Neronha noting that it may never be fully understood. He added that investigators would pursue every available avenue to determine why Brown and MIT were targeted, but he cautioned that the public should not expect a definitive answer soon. Rhode Island and Massachusetts authorities reiterated that they pursued every lead in coordination with federal partners and local law enforcement agencies during the five-day manhunt that followed the Brown shooting.

In confirming the link between the Brown and MIT shootings, authorities highlighted certain cross-cutting details: Valente had ties to both institutions, including past enrollment at Brown and shared academic networks with Loureiro. The case has prompted renewed calls for safety on college campuses and greater coordination among law enforcement agencies across state lines. Officials stressed that while this investigation has concluded in terms of identifying and locating the suspect, it has also underscored the complexity of modern mass-violence cases that involve mobility across multiple jurisdictions.

The release of the suspect’s identity has spurred renewed interest in the broader context of security in higher education. University presidents and campus safety officials say they will review protocols for active shooter responses, as well as mental health and threat assessment practices, to prevent future tragedies. In the wake of the events, campus communities expressed grief for the victims and gratitude to the investigators who managed a rapid and coordinated response across multiple jurisdictions. Authorities urged anyone with information related to the case to contact law enforcement and pledged to provide updates as investigations continue to unfold, even as they emphasized that the core cases—Brown and MIT—are now considered closed in terms of active pursuit of suspects.

The shootings have raised questions about how individuals who move through university systems may become involved in violent crime, and how institutions, local police, and federal agencies can more effectively share information that could prevent violence. While the immediate danger has subsided, the families of the victims and Brown and MIT communities are left to process the losses and the lingering questions about motive and opportunity. As investigations move forward, officials stressed the need for ongoing transparency with the public while preserving the integrity of the case and protecting the privacy of those affected by the tragedy.