The suspect in last week’s mass shooting at Brown University has been found dead in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, ending a six-day multi-state manhunt, authorities said.
Police identified the suspect as Claudio Neves Valente, 48, a Portuguese national who studied at Brown University roughly 25 years ago. Investigators believe Valente also killed an MIT professor two days after the Brown attack.
Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said video evidence and public tips led investigators to a car rental location, where Valente’s name was linked to the primary suspect. The same vehicle was later connected to both crime scenes through CCTV footage and witness accounts.
Brown University President Christina Paxson confirmed Valente was enrolled at the Ivy League institution from autumn 2000 to spring 2001 as a PhD physics student, stressing he had no current affiliation with the university.
US suspends green card lottery scheme after Brown shooting
Authorities believe Valente shot and killed MIT professor Nuno F. Gomes Loureiro, 47, on Monday at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, about 50 miles from Providence. Police said both men had studied at the same university in Portugal in the late 1990s.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said Valente was found dead with a satchel and two firearms. Evidence recovered from a nearby car matched the Brown University shooting scene. The same car was seen near the site of the MIT professor’s killing.
Initial findings indicate Valente died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Investigators have not confirmed how long he was inside the storage unit.
“Even though the suspect was found dead, our work is not done,” said FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Ted Docks, noting that around 500 FBI agents were deployed to assist in the investigation. Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley added that Valente used a phone designed to evade tracking, describing him as “sophisticated in hiding his tracks.”
In the aftermath, the U.S. government has suspended the green card diversity lottery programme. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Valente entered the U.S. through the programme in 2017 and was granted permanent residency, stating he “should never have been allowed in our country.” The suspension was ordered by President Donald Trump pending further review.
The Brown University shooting occurred on December 13 when a gunman opened fire inside the Barus & Holley engineering building during a study session ahead of final exams. Two students were killed and nine others injured, six of whom remain hospitalized.
The victims were identified as Ella Cook, 19, a second-year student from Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, an Uzbek-American first-year student. Authorities had previously released footage of a masked person of interest and offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the suspect’s capture.
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