Suspect in Brown University Shooting and Murder of MIT Professor from Portugal, Found Dead

Providence, RI / Boston, MA - December 18, 2025. The six-day manhunt for the gunman responsible for a deadly mass shooting at Brown University and the subsequent murder of an MIT professor ended Thursday night when authorities discovered the suspect dead in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire.

Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national and former Brown University graduate student.

Valente died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha. He was found with two firearms, a satchel, and evidence linking him to the crimes.Valente is confirmed responsible for both attacks:On December 13, 2025, Valente entered the Barus and Holley building on Brown's campus in Providence, Rhode Island, during final exams. He opened fire in a classroom, killing two students and injuring nine others.

Two days later, on December 15, 2025, he fatally shot Nuno F.G. Loureiro, a 47-year-old renowned MIT physics professor originally from Portugal, at Loureiro's home in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Authorities linked the incidents after tracing a rental vehicle used in both crimes. Surveillance footage placed Valente near Brown's campus before the shooting and in Brookline around the time of Loureiro's murder. Valente had changed license plates on the vehicle to evade detection.

A key connection: Valente and Loureiro both attended the same academic program at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal, from 1995 to 2000. Valente later briefly enrolled in Brown's physics Ph.D. program in 2000–2001 before withdrawing. He entered the U.S. on a student visa and became a lawful permanent resident in 2017, with a last known address in Miami, Florida.

Officials stated the motive remains unclear. "In terms of why Brown, that is a mystery," Neronha said during a press conference. There is no evidence Valente planned further attacks.U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah B. Foley confirmed Valente's responsibility for Loureiro's murder, noting his vehicle was observed near the professor's home.

The Brown shooting victims were students Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook. Loureiro, director of MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center, was a leading researcher in plasma physics and nuclear fusion.With Valente's death, authorities declared there is no ongoing threat to the public.Sources: NBC News, The New York Times, Boston Globe, ABC News, CBS News, CNN.