Manhunt for Brown University shooter ends as suspect found dead
Suspect believed responsible for mass shooting at Brown University and targeted killing of MIT professor two days later
PROVIDENCE, United States (MNTV) – The manhunt for a suspect linked to two deadly shootings at major US universities has ended, after authorities confirmed the suspect was found dead.
Law enforcement officials said Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national, was discovered deceased inside a storage unit in New Hampshire.
Investigators now believe he was responsible for both the mass shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island and the targeted killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor two days later.
The violence began on Saturday, Dec. 13, when a gunman opened fire inside an engineering classroom at Brown University during a final exam review session.
The attack killed two undergraduate students—19-year-old Ella Cook and 18-year-old Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov—and wounded nine others. Valente, who was identified as a former graduate student in Brown’s physics program during the 2000–2001 academic year, is reported to have spent significant time in the building where the shooting occurred.
Just over 48 hours later, on Monday night, MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro was fatally shot in the foyer of his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Authorities said Loureiro, a prominent 47-year-old plasma physicist and director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, was the intended target.
Investigators identified a key connection during the probe: both Valente and Professor Loureiro were natives of Portugal and are believed to have attended the same academic program at Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon during the 1990s.
For five days, the investigation frustrated authorities, who initially detained and later cleared a different person of interest. The breakthrough came from a member of the public.
A tipster, who reported a suspicious encounter with a man inside a Brown University bathroom on the day of the shooting, posted online about a grey Nissan Sentra with Florida license plates.
The tip led investigators to a rental car agency, where they identified Valente and matched his clothing to surveillance footage from the Brown campus.
The trail led law enforcement to a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, where Valente had rented a unit in November.
On Thursday evening, an FBI SWAT team executed a search warrant and found Valente’s body in an adjacent storage unit.
Authorities said he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was found with a satchel containing two firearms.
The announcement brought a measure of relief to shaken academic communities in Providence and Boston.
“Tonight our Providence neighbors can finally breathe a little easier,” Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said. While the immediate threat has ended, the motive behind the attacks remains unclear.
Authorities said Valente had no known criminal record in the United States and confirmed that the investigation into his reasons for targeting Brown University and Professor Loureiro is ongoing.
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