The man who unleashed gunfire inside Brown University has now been identified as Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national whose connection to the Ivy League campus stretched back more than two decades.
Long before the violence, he was a graduate student in physics, enrolling in a master’s program between 2000 and 2001 before quietly stepping away and ultimately withdrawing from the school.
Why he returned — and why he chose violence — remains unanswered.
A Quiet Study Session Turns Into Horror
On Saturday afternoon, students gathered inside the Barus and Holley Building, a familiar academic hub within Brown’s School of Engineering.
Just after 4 p.m., that calm shattered.
Gunfire erupted during what had been an ordinary study session, killing 18-year-old Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov of Virginia and 19-year-old Ella Cook of Alabama.
Twelve others were wounded as the shooter discharged roughly 40 rounds before fleeing.
University President Christina Paxson later confirmed the building was unlocked to accommodate exams, noting that Neves Valente may have attended classes in the same structure years earlier.
A Suspect With a Complicated Academic Past
As investigators pieced together Neves Valente’s history, another unsettling detail emerged.
He had attended the same school in Portugal — Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon — as MIT professor Nuno Loureiro, who would later become another victim.
While officials initially downplayed any connection between the two men or the shootings, the overlap in academic circles raised troubling questions as the investigation deepened.
A Second Killing Raises Alarms Across State Lines
Two days after the Brown shooting, violence struck again — this time nearly 50 miles away in Boston.
On Monday night, Loureiro, a married father of three and a respected MIT physicist, was shot inside his home.
Neighbors on Gibbs Street described the scene as surreal.
Louise Cohen, who lived nearby, said she was lighting a menorah when the sound of gunfire pierced the quiet.
Moments later, she found Loureiro lying on his back in the hallway as neighbors and his wife rushed to call 911. He died the following day.
Six Days on the Run
The manhunt that followed stretched across New England and lasted nearly a week.
Surveillance footage captured a shadowy figure near both crime scenes, always dressed the same, always just out of clear view.
Authorities finally caught a break when Massachusetts police investigating Loureiro’s killing flagged a suspicious vehicle — one that matched the make and model tied to the Brown shooting, despite carrying different license plates.
That realization narrowed the search dramatically.
A Tip From the Margins Changes Everything
The decisive lead came from an unexpected source.
A homeless witness contacted police, pointing them toward a parked vehicle outside a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire — more than 80 miles from Brown’s campus.
From there, investigators unraveled the trail: rental records, surveillance images, and photographs that all lined up with the suspect’s appearance and movements in Providence.
A Final Discovery Inside a Storage Unit
With a warrant in hand, officers searched a storage unit believed to be rented by Neves Valente.
Inside, they found him dead from what authorities say was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
He was carrying a satchel containing two firearms.
Evidence recovered from the vehicle and unit directly matched what investigators had documented at the Brown crime scene.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said the discovery brought a grim clarity to the case.
“Our Neighbors Can Breathe a Little Easier”
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley addressed the public Thursday night, acknowledging the fear that had gripped the city.
“Tonight our Providence neighbors can breathe a little easier,” he said, confirming the threat had ended.
Officials also revealed the lengths Neves Valente appeared to go to in order to avoid detection — swapping license plates, using credit cards not in his name, and relying on a cellphone designed to mask his location and identity.
Remembering a Scholar Lost to Violence
As investigators worked, the academic world mourned.
MIT honored Loureiro as a brilliant fusion scientist and a compassionate leader who became director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center in 2024.
His career spanned continents, from Lisbon to London to Princeton, and included years at the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s Culham Centre for Fusion Energy.
Colleagues described him as generous with his time and deeply devoted to his students.
MIT President Sally Kornbluth acknowledged the wider climate of violence surrounding his death, urging the community to lean on campus resources and support one another in grief.
Questions That Still Linger
Despite the suspect’s death, critical questions remain.
Investigators have not confirmed whether the two shootings were directly connected, and the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office says no arrests have been made in Loureiro’s homicide.
For now, officials say the case remains active, and more details may emerge.
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