Tragic Shooting Incident at Brown University Leaves Two Dead and Sparks Investigation

Fri Dec 19 2025 16:08:26 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

A suspect implicated in a mass shooting at Brown University has been found dead in New Hampshire, connected to another murder of an MIT professor, leading to ongoing investigations and heightened concerns over campus safety.

The lifeless body of 48-year-old Claudio Neves Valente, a former graduate student at Brown and primary suspect of a mass shooting that left two students dead and several others injured, was found in a New Hampshire storage facility. His death was ruled a suicide. Investigators believe he also murdered MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro shortly after the university incident. The motives for these tragedies remain uncertain, prompting significant scrutiny from law enforcement and university officials alike.

A frantic search for the suspect in a recent mass shooting at Brown University concluded at a storage facility in New Hampshire, where authorities discovered the man dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The suspect, 48-year-old Claudio Neves Valente, was also suspected of murdering a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor.

Valente, a former graduate student from Portugal, is believed to have fatally shot two students and injured nine others in a lecture hall last Saturday. He took the life of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro two days later. Providence police officials stated that investigations suggest he acted alone in these incidents.

Brown University's President Christina Paxson confirmed that Valente had been enrolled as a graduate student studying physics in the early 2000s but had no current affiliation with the institution. Authorities are still unraveling the complexities of his background, noting he was granted legal permanent residency in the U.S. in 2017 after coming on a student visa.

As tension builds, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha remarked that numerous questions remain unanswered regarding the disturbed motivations behind these acts. A key witness relayed crucial information that led to connecting Valente to the crimes. Following the disclosure of his identity, President Donald Trump responded by halting the green card lottery program under which Valente was allowed to reside in the U.S.

The victims of the shooting incident include renowned physicist and MIT professor Nuno Loureiro, known for his groundbreaking work in fusion science, along with two Brown students: 19-year-old Ella Cook and 18-year-old MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, who was an aspiring doctor. As the investigation continues, the community is grappling with the ramifications of such a profound tragedy.