The intense search for the gunman in the Brown University shooting came to a close on Thursday in New Hampshire, where authorities discovered a man’s body they linked to Providence, Rhode Island shooting and a separate killing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Identifying Brown University’s Gunman
Providence police chief, Colonel Oscar Perez, identified Claudio Neves Valente (48) as the body found inside the New Hampshire storage facility Thursday evening. He was a former Brown student and Portuguese national. His body was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound and investigators believe he is responsible for the fatal shootings at Brown University last weekend.
Investigators allege Valente is responsible for the death of two students and injuring nine others at the university in Providence, Rhode Island. On Monday night, he drove 50 miles to Brookline, Massachusetts, where he shot MIT professor, Nuno FG Loureiro, in his home.
The FBI held a press conference to reveal their findings and acknowledge a Reddit tipster named “John”, who came forward with information that led them to the arrest of the suspect. Due to his assistance, he is now eligible for the $50,000 reward offered for the capture of Brown University’s mass shooter.
As far as the investigators are aware, Valente has acted alone. Brown University President Christina Paxson informed them that Valente was enrolled as a graduate student from the fall of 2000 until the spring of 2001. She said, “He has no current affiliation with the university.”
Claudio Neves Valente
Valente and Loureiro attended the same academic program at Portugal’s premier engineering school, Instituto Superior Técnico, between 1995 and 2000. Loureiro graduated from the physics program in 2000, the same year Valente was let go from his position at the Lisbon University. Valente studied at Brown University on a student visa and obtained legal permanent residence in September 2017.
His last known residence was in Miami, and officials have not made it clear about his whereabouts between 2001 and 2017. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said there is still a lot to uncover about the shooting, including Valente’s motive. “We don’t know why now, why Brown, why these students and why this classroom,” he said.
Tipster “John”
Authorities credit “John” for providing the crucial tip that led them to the shooter. Valente was discovered to have rented a gray Nissan Sentra car with a Florida license plate at a Boston car rental agency on December 1. Neronha explained that after police released images of the person of interest, a witness recognized him and began posting to the social media forum Reddit. Many Redditers told the Original Poster (OP) to go to the police with the information.
Police took days to interview the tipster and only did so after a video showed Valente running away from the man. During his interview, he provided a key detail, which was the Nissan with Florida plates. Providence police officers used that to tap into street cameras around the city and track down the car. “When you do crack it, you crack it. And that person led us to the car, which led us to the name,” Neronha said.
Video footage showed Valente near Loureiro’s home in a Boston suburb, and an hour later, he was seen entering the storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire. When his body was found, authorities recovered a satchel with two firearms.
Moving Forward
This discovery has ended the five-day manhunt following a tragedy at the ivy-league university. Thankfully, investigators continued even after the FBI Director Kash Patel insisted this was a closed case following the wrongful arrest of a suspect on Sunday, the day after the shooting. While there are still more questions to be answered in this case, and the motive remains unknown, victims can begin emotionally recovering from this devastating incident.
Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, also announced on Thursday, following the identification of the shooter, that the Trump administration is suspending the green card lottery program that allowed Valente to become a permanent resident 16 years after he entered on a student visa.
