WEB DESK: The suspect involved in last week’s mass shooting at Brown University was discovered dead inside a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, after a six-day multi-state manhunt, according to police.
Authorities identified the individual as Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national who had briefly studied at the university in Providence, Rhode Island, approximately 25 years ago.
Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez stated that investigators were able to trace the suspect using video evidence and public tips, which led them to a car rental agency. There, they identified Valente by name and confirmed him as their person of interest.
Officials further revealed their belief that Valente was responsible for the murder of an MIT professor just two days after the December 13 shooting at Brown University. However, authorities have yet to disclose a motive for either crime.
Brown University President Christina Paxson clarified that Valente had been enrolled as a PhD physics student from fall 2000 through spring 2001 but emphasized that he had no current ties to the institution.
Investigators allege that Valente fatally shot 47-year-old MIT professor Nuno F. Gomes Loureiro on Monday at Loureiro’s residence in Brookline, located roughly 50 miles (80 km) from Providence. Both men reportedly attended the same university in Portugal during the late 1990s, according to police.
The connection between the two cases was established after CCTV footage and witness accounts at Brown University identified Valente’s vehicle. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha reported that when Valente was found, he had a satchel and two firearms in his possession. Evidence recovered from a nearby car linked him to the shooting at Brown.
The same vehicle had also been noted near the site of the Brookline professor’s murder.
