In a harrowing week that shook two of America’s most prestigious academic institutions, the suspect behind the Brown University mass shooting and the killing of an MIT professor was found dead in a New Hampshire storage facility, authorities confirmed late Thursday. The six-day manhunt, which spanned multiple states and mobilized hundreds of law enforcement agents, ended with the discovery of Claudio Neves Valente, 48, a Portuguese national and former graduate student at Brown, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The saga began on December 14, 2025, when a gunman burst into the Barus & Holley engineering building at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, during a final exam review session. According to BBC News, the shooter opened fire in a packed lecture hall, killing two students and injuring nine others. The victims were later identified as Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore from Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman from Virginia, whose lives were cut short in what should have been a routine day on campus. Six of the wounded remained hospitalized days after the attack, as reported by Axios.
Authorities quickly launched an intensive investigation, but progress seemed agonizingly slow for the anxious campus community. Despite Brown University’s 1,200 security cameras, the attack occurred in an older section of the building with few or no cameras, and the shooter entered and exited through a door facing a residential street, limiting available footage. Frustration mounted as students, faculty, and families waited for answers. “Even though the suspect was found dead tonight our work is not done. There are many questions that need to be answered,” FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Ted Docks told reporters, as quoted by BBC News.
The investigation took a significant turn thanks to a tip from a member of the public who recognized the person of interest from police-released images and reported their suspicions on Reddit. This tip led investigators to a rental car, which was traced using Providence’s network of more than 70 street cameras operated by Flock Safety. The car, a Nissan sedan with Florida plates, was soon located, and evidence found inside matched the scene of the Brown University shooting. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha credited the public’s vigilance and modern surveillance technology for the critical breakthrough.
As the investigation unfolded, authorities uncovered a chilling link to another crime. On December 16, just two days after the Brown University shooting, MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro, 47, was found shot at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, roughly 50 miles from Providence. Loureiro, a prominent nuclear science and engineering professor who led MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, succumbed to his wounds the following morning. According to AP News, both Loureiro and Valente had studied at the same university program in Portugal between 1995 and 2000, though the nature of their subsequent relationship remains unclear.
Valente’s background soon came into sharper focus. He had enrolled as a graduate student in physics at Brown University from the fall of 2000 to the spring of 2001 but had no current affiliation with the institution, Brown President Christina Paxson clarified. After withdrawing from the program, Valente’s whereabouts were largely unknown until he resurfaced in official records in 2017, when he obtained legal permanent residence in the United States via the diversity visa lottery, commonly known as the green card lottery. His last known address was in Miami, Florida.
Following the revelation that Valente had entered the U.S. through the green card lottery, the political fallout was swift. President Donald Trump directed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to immediately suspend the program, citing concerns about national security. Noem stated, “Valente should never have been allowed in our country,” as reported by BBC News. The diversity visa lottery, which annually allows up to 50,000 people from countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S., has long been a subject of political debate, and the Brown-MIT shootings reignited calls for its overhaul or elimination.
As investigators pieced together Valente’s movements, they discovered that after the Providence shooting, he had placed a Maine license plate over the car’s Florida plate in an attempt to conceal his identity. Surveillance footage captured him entering an apartment building near Loureiro’s home in Brookline and later entering the Extra Space Storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, where he was ultimately found dead with a satchel containing two firearms. Evidence in the car parked nearby matched items found at both crime scenes, further solidifying his role as the prime suspect.
Law enforcement officials believe Valente acted alone in both attacks. “As far as investigators know, Neves Valente acted alone,” Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez told reporters, according to AP News. The FBI, which had deployed approximately 500 agents to assist local authorities and offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, confirmed that Valente had employed sophisticated methods to obscure his digital footprint, including using a phone that was difficult to track. Leah B. Foley, U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, remarked, “He was sophisticated in hiding his tracks.”
Despite the closure brought by Valente’s death, the motive for the attacks remains a mystery. “We don’t know why now, why Brown, why these students and why this classroom,” Rhode Island Attorney General Neronha admitted. Authorities have yet to uncover any clear reasoning behind the timing or targets of the violence, leaving the academic communities of Brown and MIT grappling with unanswered questions and profound grief.
The impact of the shootings has been deeply felt on both campuses. At Brown University, a growing memorial outside the Barus and Holley building honors the memories of Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, with students and faculty stopping by to pay their respects before departing for the winter holidays. “Both were in a review session for a final exam when the shooting happened,” officials said, as reported by Axios. At MIT, colleagues mourn the loss of a respected scientist and leader whose work aimed to unlock the mysteries of the universe.
As the investigation continues, law enforcement and university officials have pledged to review security protocols and provide support to those affected by the tragedy. The events of the past week serve as a somber reminder of the unpredictable threats facing even the most hallowed halls of learning and the enduring need for vigilance, compassion, and resilience in the face of senseless violence.
