Authorities identified the suspect responsible for the killing of two people and injuring several others in a shooting at Brown University as Claudio Neves Valente, 48, who was found dead inside a storage facility in New Hampshire.
Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez announced at a news conference that Claudio Neves Valente, 48, a Brown University student and Portuguese national, was discovered Thursday evening in Salem, New Hampshire. Officials said Valente died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Investigators believe Valente was responsible for the mass shooting at Brown University on Saturday, where two people were killed and nine others were wounded.
Law enforcement officials are also examining a possible connection between the Brown attack and the fatal shooting of an MIT professor, Nuno F.G. Loureiro, who was found dead in his Brookline, Massachusetts, home earlier in the week. Authorities have not formally confirmed that the two cases are linked.
A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press that evidence suggests Valente may be responsible for both shootings. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing nature of the investigation. Earlier in the week, the FBI said it was not aware of any confirmed connection between the two incidents.
The search for the Brown University shooter had stretched nearly a week, fueling frustration among students, faculty, and Providence residents.
Investigators said the shooting occurred in an older section of the engineering building that has few surveillance cameras. Authorities believe the suspect entered and exited through a door facing a nearby residential street, limiting the amount of usable video footage.
Experts note that in many mass shooting cases, suspects are either killed, arrested quickly, or die by suicide, but investigations can take days when a shooter escapes. Similar delays occurred in past high-profile cases, including the Boston Marathon bombing and other mass attacks.
Meanwhile, MIT is mourning the loss of Professor Loureiro, a respected physicist and engineer who led the university’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center. Colleagues described him as a dedicated mentor and visionary researcher whose work focused on advancing fusion energy and clean technology.
