Brown University Shooting Suspect Found Dead as Police Confirm Identity

The suspect in the deadly shooting at Brown University in the United States has been found dead, bringing a critical development in an investigation that left two students dead and nine others injured. The shooting occurred on Saturday inside a classroom building at the Ivy League institution in Providence, Rhode Island, sending shockwaves through the campus and the wider academic community.

Authorities confirmed the discovery during a news conference held Thursday night in Providence. Police identified the suspect as 48-year-old Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a Portuguese national whose last known address was in Miami, Florida. Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez provided the details as investigators outlined how the case unfolded following days of intensive search efforts.

Neves Valente was found dead inside a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire. Investigators believe he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A senior official noted that “He may have been dead for a bit of time,” suggesting the death may not have been recent at the time of discovery.

Further details revealed that Neves Valente had previous ties to Brown University. According to university president Christina Paxson, he was a former PhD student in physics who attended the institution from 2000 until the spring of 2001. He later took a leave of absence and formally withdrew in July 2003. Paxson explained that as a physics student, Neves Valente would have spent “a great deal of time” in the same building where the shooting later occurred.

How did police identify and locate the shooting suspect?

Police said the breakthrough came after a tip involving a vehicle description. Detectives traced the information to a car rental company in Massachusetts, where CCTV footage and rental documents revealed the suspect’s identity. Chief Perez explained that this evidence was key in moving the investigation forward at a critical stage.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha added that when Neves Valente was located, authorities found significant evidence linking him directly to the shooting. He was discovered “with a satchel, with two firearms and evidence in the car that matches exactly what we see at the scene here in Providence”.

The investigation accelerated after police released an image of a person of interest on Wednesday. According to Neronha, the individual in the image quickly came forward.

“We had that picture of that second individual, and within an hour, no more than two, that person came forward to two Providence police officers. He blew this case right open,” Mr Neronha said.

“That person 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.”

What is the confirmed link to the MIT professor killing?

Authorities also confirmed a direct link between Neves Valente and the killing of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro, who was found dead two days later in Brookline, Massachusetts, about 50 miles north of Boston. Officials stated that Neves Valente carried out the killing at Loureiro’s home.

“On 15 December, he murdered Nuno Loureiro at Loureiro’s home in Brookline, Massachusetts,” Leah B. Foley, US attorney for the district of Massachusetts, said.

Investigators further disclosed that Neves Valente and Loureiro shared an academic connection dating back to Portugal.

“It is believed that in Lisbon that those two individuals attended the same university in Portugal,” a federal agent said.

By Lucky Anyanje