Authorities have now identified the man behind Saturday’s mass shooting at Brown University—and the revelation has only deepened the shock rippling through Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and the academic community nationwide. Investigators say the suspect is the same individual believed to have murdered a prominent MIT nuclear scientist just days later, linking two horrific crimes across state lines in a case that feels as chilling as it is incomprehensible.
Providence police identified the suspect as Claudio Manuel Neves‑Valente, a 48‑year‑old Portuguese national and former Brown student. The search for him ended Thursday evening in Salem, New Hampshire, when federal agents breached a storage unit connected to Neves‑Valente and found him dead from a self‑inflicted gunshot wound, according to U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley.
“This evening at approximately 9 p.m., federal agents breached a storage locker in Salem, New Hampshire,” Foley said at a press briefing. “Federal agents found Neves‑Valente dead from a self‑inflicted gunshot wound.”
The discovery closed an intense, multi‑day manhunt—but left behind far more questions than answers.
The initial tragedy unfolded Saturday afternoon at around 4 p.m. inside the Barus and Holley Building on Brown’s campus, where students had gathered for a finals week review session. Two students—Ella Cook of Alabama and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov of Virginia—were killed. Nine others were wounded, six of whom remained hospitalized in stable condition as of Thursday.
Brown University President Christina Paxson confirmed that Neves‑Valente had briefly attended Brown between 2000 and 2001, studying physics before taking a leave of absence and eventually withdrawing in 2003. Though he had no current affiliation with the university, Paxson noted the unsettling connection between the suspect and the building targeted.
🚨 BREAKING: It’s been confirmed that a HOMELESS MAN blew the Brown University shooting case “wide open” through a Reddit post, named John
He called the tip line and flagged his OWN Reddit post, and was seen on video walking very close to the shooter
The man might get the $50K… pic.twitter.com/pr1j40UtOZ
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 19, 2025
“I think it’s safe to assume that this man, when he was a student, spent a great deal of time in that building,” she said. “He has no current active affiliation with the university or campus presence.”
As investigators dug deeper, another disturbing link emerged. A man with the same name had been terminated from a monitoring position at Instituto Superior Técnico in Portugal in 2000, the same institution attended by Dr. Nuno Loureiro, a renowned MIT nuclear physicist. Loureiro was found fatally shot at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, on Monday—about 50 miles from Brown.
Federal authorities now believe Neves‑Valente was responsible for both crimes.
In the days following the Brown shooting, law enforcement released surveillance images of a masked, stocky figure with a distinctive gait—his right leg bowing inward as his toe pointed outward, according to body‑language expert Susan Constantine. Police canvassed neighborhoods, questioned leads, and even ruled out an early person of interest before closing in on Neves‑Valente.
For the Brown community, the relief of answers is inseparable from grief. Students were sent home early. Residents remained on edge. Faculty and families waited anxiously for clarity that, when it came, only underscored the senselessness of the violence.
Mayor Brett Smiley emphasized that the motive remains unclear and the investigation ongoing, even as the suspect is no longer alive to explain himself.
