Brown University Shooting Suspect Found Dead, Linked to MIT Professor Murder

The tragic events that unfolded across New England in mid-December 2025 reached a grim conclusion with the discovery of the Brown University shooting suspect's body. Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, was found deceased in a storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire, bringing an end to a multi-state manhunt. Federal authorities have now connected him to a second homicide—the killing of a distinguished MIT professor—revealing a complex investigation that relied on technological tools and public assistance.

The Crimes and Timeline

On December 13, 2025, a mass shooting occurred at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The attack took place in Tanner Auditorium within the Barus and Holley engineering building, where students were participating in a study session for an economics final exam. According to charging documents, the shooter entered from the rear of the auditorium and fired toward the front as students sought cover. The shooting resulted in the deaths of two students—Ella Cook, a sophomore, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, a freshman—and left nine others wounded.

Two days later, on December 15, MIT professor Nuno Loureiro was found shot at his apartment in Brookline, Massachusetts. The 47-year-old director of MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center died at a hospital the following day. Authorities initially investigated the incidents separately until evidence revealed a connection.

Identifying the Suspect

The investigation faced significant challenges due to limited, low-quality security footage of the person of interest near Brown University. Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar L. Perez Jr. acknowledged the pressure investigators faced, stating that evaluating leads and physical evidence is a "painstaking process" that "takes days." A breakthrough came from an individual referred to only as "John" in police affidavits.

John provided critical information after recognizing the person of interest from surveillance images. He had encountered the man on a sidewalk outside Brown University and noted his "inappropriate and inadequate" clothing for the weather. John also identified a gray Nissan Sentra with Florida plates that the suspect had used. His posts on Reddit urging authorities to investigate the vehicle eventually led him to contact the FBI tip line.

Authorities used this information along with Flock Safety automated license plate readers to track the vehicle's movements. The technology helped connect the rental car to both crime scenes. Security video from a Boston car rental agency showed Valente renting the gray Nissan Sentra on December 1. The vehicle was captured intermittently near Brown University between December 1-12, and later in the vicinity of Loureiro's Brookline apartment.

Connection Between Suspect and Victim

Investigators discovered that Valente and Professor Loureiro shared a significant connection. Both were Portuguese nationals who studied physics at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon during the same period in the late 1990s. Professor Bruno Gonçalves, now president of the physics department at the institute, confirmed that Valente had been the top student in his course.

Valente had a brief academic history in the United States. He was admitted to Brown University's physics Ph.D. program in the fall of 2000 but took a leave of absence in April 2001 before formally withdrawing in July 2003. Brown University President Christina Paxson confirmed that "the majority of physics classes at Brown have always been held at the Barus & Holley classrooms and labs" where the shooting occurred.

Discovery and Aftermath

On December 18, authorities located Valente's body in a storage unit he had rented in Salem, New Hampshire. An autopsy revealed he had died by suicide from a gunshot wound to the head on December 16—one day after Loureiro's murder and two days before his discovery. Security footage showed him entering the Salem storage facility about an hour after being captured on cameras near Loureiro's apartment building.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha stated that investigators are "100% confident" Valente acted alone in the Brown University shooting, though the motive remains unknown. "I don't think we have any idea why now, or why—why Brown? Why these students? Why this classroom? That is really unknown to us," Neronha said during a news conference.

Policy Implications

The case prompted immediate changes to U.S. immigration policy. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that Valente had entered the United States in 2017 after receiving a green card through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. This program provides approximately 50,000 immigrant visas annually through a lottery system to countries with low U.S. immigration rates.

In response, Noem directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to pause the program, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered an indefinite pause to diversity visa issuance. A State Department spokesperson stated, "The horrific incidents this week demonstrate the threat the diversity visa program poses to American security and safety."

Community Response and Recognition

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley formally requested that "John" receive the full $50,000 reward the FBI had offered for information about the Brown University attack. In a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, Smiley called John a hero whose "bravery, selflessness and stewardship on behalf of his community went far beyond what anyone could ever hope from a tip." The FBI has maintained its policy of not confirming whether reward money has been paid or to whom.

The Brown University community continues to mourn the loss of Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov. Professor Loureiro is remembered by MIT colleagues as "not only a brilliant scientist, he was a brilliant person" who "shone a bright light as a mentor, friend, teacher, colleague and leader." The investigations into both shootings continue as authorities work to understand the full circumstances behind these connected tragedies.