A man suspected in the killing of two students at Brown University and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) physics professor has been found dead.
Authorities said they believed the two incidents were connected at a press conference on Thursday and identified the suspect as 48-year-old Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a Portuguese national. Neves Valente was found dead from self-inflicted gunshot wounds in a New Hampshire storage facility on Thursday, according to Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez.
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Federal, state, and local officials were engaged in a five-day manhunt after a shooter killed two students and wounded nine others during a final exam study session at Brown University on Saturday. A previous “person of interest” was detained on Sunday, Dec. 14, but was later released.
Here’s what to know about the case.
Tracing the timeline
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley recounted the suspect’s last steps during a news conference, where she revealed that Neves Valente, whose last known home address was in Florida, had rented a hotel room in Boston between Nov. 26 and Nov. 30.
On Dec. 1, the suspect rented a gray Nissan Sentra with Florida plates from a Boston rental agency and used it to drive down to the Brown University area in Rhode Island. His car was “observed intermittently” from Dec. 1 until Dec. 12th. On Saturday, Dec. 13, Valente allegedly opened fire at Brown University during a study session, killing two students, Ella Cook and Muhammad Aziz Umurzakov. He injured nine others.
Following the shooting, Neves Valente traveled some 80 miles north to the home of MIT physics professor Nuno Loureiro in Brookline, Massachusetts, according to police. Around 9 p.m. local time on Dec. 15, Loureiro’s neighbors reported hearing loud bangs. Loureiro was found with gunshot wounds and taken to a nearby hospital, where he passed away the following day, according to the Norfolk County district attorney’s office.
Immediately after the killing, Neves Valente traveled another 40 miles to a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, where he died by suicide, Chief Perez told reporters. Officials found his body, with the same clothes he had been wearing when he fatally shot Loureiro, on Thursday. Two firearms and a satchel were also recovered near his remains.
“We are 100% confident that this is our target, and that this case is closed from a perspective of pursuing people involved,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said on Thursday.
Still, Neronha added that the motive for the shooting is unclear. “I don’t think we have any idea why now, or why — why Brown? Why these students? Why this classroom? That is really unknown to us. It may become clear, I hope that it does, but it hasn’t as of right now,” Neronha added.
Who is the suspect?
Officials identified Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national, as the suspect in both cases.
Neves Valente was formerly enrolled at Brown University from the fall of 2000 to the spring of 2001 for the Master of Science/Ph.D. in physics program. He took a leave of absence in April 2001 before withdrawing from the university in July 2003, according to university President Christina Paxson. She also noted that most of the physics classes at the school had likely taken place in the same building where the shooting occurred.
Officials also discovered connections between Neves Valente and the MIT professor. Attorney General Foley told reporters that Neves Valente had “attended the same academic program” as Loureiro in Portugal between 1995 and 2000.
“My understanding is that they did know each other,” Foley said.
Neves Valente moved to the U.S. in 2017 through a diversity visa lottery program, according to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Under the direction of President Donald Trump, Noem has instructed USCIS to pause the diversity lottery to “ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.”
Who are the victims?
Two victims died in the Brown University shooting.
Among them was Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore from Alabama studying French and Mathematics-Economics at Brown, according to her obituary. Cook, who is described by her loved ones as bearing a heart “as large as the sun,” served as the vice president of Brown University’s College Republicans.
“Ella was known for her bold, brave, and kind heart as she served her chapter and her fellow classmates,” Martin Bertao, president of the College Republicans of America wrote in a statement. “Our prayers are with her family, our Brown CR’s, and the entirety of the campus as they heal from this tragedy.”
Alabama Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth described Cook as a “devoted Christian and a committed conservative who represented the very best of Alabama.”
Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman studying biochemistry and neuroscience, has been identified as the second victim in the Brown University shooting. Umurzokov’s sister spoke to the Associated Press about her brother, who she said suffered a neurological condition at a young age that had required surgery.
“He had so many hardships in his life, and he got into this amazing school and tried so hard to follow through with the promise he made when he was seven years old,” Samira Umurzokova said.
The family’s GoFundMe page said he had dreams of “becoming a neurosurgeon and helping people.”
“He always lent a helping hand to anyone in need without hesitation, and was the most kind-hearted person our family knew. Our family is incredibly devastated by this loss,” it said on the page.
The American Uzbekistan Association has also released a statement honoring Mukhammad Aziz, saying that he was known for his sharp intellect, kind heart, and quiet willingness to help anyone in need.”
“He carried himself with humility and compassion, earning the respect and affection of those around him,” the association added. “His curiosity, discipline, and generosity reflected both his character and the values of the community that raised him.”
The suspected shooter also killed Nuno F. Gomes Loureiro, a 47-year-old nuclear science and engineering professor at MIT.
Local resident Anne Greenwald told CBS News Boston that Loureiro had a young family. The young professor earned his PhD in physics at Imperial College London in 2005, after which he worked at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. He worked as the director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, according to his MIT faculty page.
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