Claudio Neves Valente Massacres Brown University Students, Kills MIT Professor

Campus shootings and manhunt

Authorities identified Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, a Portuguese national and former Brown University graduate student, as the suspected shooter in a Dec. 13 attack inside Brown’s Barus & Holley engineering building.

The attack killed two students and wounded nine.

Investigators also tied Valente to the Dec. 15 fatal shooting of MIT physics professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro in Brookline.

Valente was later found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot in a Salem, New Hampshire storage unit, ending the multi-state manhunt.

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Evidence and tracking results

Investigators said the probe advanced after a public tip and extensive video and license‑plate camera analysis. Authorities traced a grey Nissan Sentra with Florida plates to a rental agreement in the suspect’s name. They used street‑camera networks such as Flock Safety to track movements.

Officials recovered a satchel and two firearms from the storage unit. Officials also reported matching evidence from the car to the Providence crime scene and recovering dozens of 9mm casings at Brown.

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Suspect background and immigration

Reporting across outlets detailed the suspect's background and U.S. immigration history. Valente studied engineering and physics in Portugal. He briefly attended Brown's physics Ph.D. program in 2000-2001 but later withdrew.

He became a U.S. lawful permanent resident around 2017 after entering on a student visa in 2000. He was last reported to have lived in Miami, with prior connections in Las Vegas and Boston. Officials said he and the slain MIT professor attended the same academic program in Lisbon decades earlier.

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Campus deaths and reactions

Victims and communities reacted with grief and calls for answers.

Brown identified the two students killed as Ella Cook, 19, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18.

Universities and colleagues memorialized MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro, describing him as a respected scientist and mentor.

Brown’s president and local officials emphasized the university had no current affiliation with the suspect.

The campus community sought healing as investigators continued to gather evidence.

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Unresolved forensic details

Key forensic and prosecutorial details remain unresolved even after Valente's death. An autopsy showed he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Officials recovered two firearms and a satchel.

Agencies continue forensic testing. Some outlets (Newsweek, ATF) reported that weapons were tied to the scenes. Others (Boston Globe) reported that casings did not clearly match a single gun.

Those conflicting findings leave open questions about precise ballistics, motive, and whether investigators will ever fully explain why the attacks occurred. Investigators said they believe he acted alone and the probe is ongoing.

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