Brown University, MIT Shooter Identified as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, Portuguese National

Providence police confirmed Thursday that Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national and former Brown University student, was the gunman responsible for the deadly shootings at Brown and the murder of an MIT professor before taking his own life in New Hampshire.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Authorities identified the suspect in the Brown University mass shooting and the killing of an MIT professor as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national and former Brown student who withdrew from the university in 2003. Valente was found dead in a Salem, New Hampshire, storage facility from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, just one hour after fatally shooting MIT nuclear science professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro in his Brookline, Massachusetts, home.

Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha revealed that Valente’s last known address was in Miami. Investigators traced Valente after an eyewitness directed them to a vehicle linked to the crime. “An eyewitness led us to the car, which led us to the name, which led us to the photographs of that individual renting the car, which matched the clothing of our shooter here in Providence that matched the satchel that we see here in Providence,” Neronha said during a press conference.

Valente was discovered with two firearms and a satchel containing evidence that matched items found at the Providence crime scene. Police used video evidence and license plate recognition software to track the rental car to a Massachusetts agency.

The shooting spree began on Saturday, when Valente opened fire in a Brown University engineering building, killing two students and wounding nine others before fleeing. On Monday night, he fatally shot Loureiro, a 47-year-old physicist and fusion scientist, in his Brookline home. Loureiro died the following day at a hospital.

Investigators believe Valente may have cased the Brown campus before the attack, as they urged the public to review any phone or security footage from the preceding week. While Brown University has 1,200 cameras on campus, the attack occurred in an older section of the engineering building with limited camera coverage. Police suspect Valente entered and exited through a door facing a residential street, avoiding detection by campus surveillance.

Authorities released multiple videos showing a masked individual—matching witness descriptions of the shooter—walking and running near the campus before and after the attack. Despite the footage, the shooter’s face remained obscured, complicating the initial investigation.

Valente’s motive remains unclear, and authorities continue to examine his background, including his time at Brown and any potential connections to the victims. The case has left both the Brown and MIT communities in shock, as investigators work to piece together the events leading to the deadly rampage.