Mass Shooting Suspect Connected to Brown University Found Dead

Fri Dec 19 2025 22:03:24 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Claudio Neves Valente, the main suspect in a recent mass shooting at Brown University, has been found dead after a multi-state manhunt. Authorities are investigating his ties to another shooting at MIT.

Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old suspect in a mass shooting that occurred at Brown University, was found dead in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, following a six-day manhunt. Valente, identified through video evidence, is also believed to have shot and killed an MIT professor shortly after the Brown shooting. Initial reports suggest he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The suspect in last week's mass shooting at Brown University has been found dead in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, following a six-day multi-state manhunt, police say.

They identified the suspect as Claudio Neves Valente, 48, a Portuguese national who studied at the university in Providence, Rhode Island, about 25 years ago.

Providence police chief Oscar Perez said video evidence and tips from the public led investigators to a car-rental location where they found the suspect's name and matched him to their person of interest.

Officials said they also believe Valente killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor two days after the 13 December shooting at Brown.

Initial findings suggest Valente died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and police were unable to comment on how long he might have been inside the storage facility. Authorities have not suggested a motive for either attack.

Brown University president Christina Paxson confirmed Valente had studied at the Ivy League school from autumn 2000 to spring 2001, pursuing a PhD in physics with no current active affiliation to the university.

Valente is believed to have shot and killed MIT professor Nuno F Gomes Loureiro, 47, on Monday at his home in Brookline, roughly 50 miles from Providence. The suspect and victim had previously studied at the same university in Portugal in the late 1990s.

The investigation is ongoing, with FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Ted Docks stating, Even though the suspect was found dead tonight our work is not done. There are many questions that need to be answered. Approximately 500 agents have been deployed to assist local authorities.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has suspended its green card lottery scheme following the shooting, with officials questioning how Valente was allowed entry into the country under the diversity lottery immigrant visa program.

A gunman had opened fire at Brown University's Barus & Holley engineering building, killing two students and injuring nine others, with six still hospitalized. The victims were identified as Ella Cook, 19, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18.