The article reports that authorities have identified the suspected Brown University shooter as 48-year-old Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, who was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and links him to the killing of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro; investigators traced the suspect through license plate recognition, rental records, financial data, and a cooperating second individual, and they say Neves-Valente acted alone with unclear motive and no known antisemitic motive.
Five days after the classroom attack at Brown University that left two dead and nine wounded, officials moved from limited public details to a clearer sequence of findings identifying the suspect as 48-year-old Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente. Authorities said Neves-Valente was a Portuguese national and a former Brown PhD student in physics who attended the university from fall 2000 to spring 2001, but had no current connection to the campus. Investigators reported that he obtained lawful permanent resident status in April of 2017 and that his last known address was in Miami, Florida. They believe he arrived in Providence in October and traveled around New England in the months that followed.
Officials described a chain of investigative steps that began with public video and moved through automated plate reads and rental agency footage to identify the individual seen in surveillance. Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez explained that a license plate recognition camera picked up a vehicle, which led to a car rental agency in Massachusetts where investigators obtained both video of the person and a rental agreement bearing his name. That documentation, combined with financial records and the assistance of a second person seen in video, helped lead officers to a storage facility and then to Neves-Valente himself.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said the second individual captured on video helped to “blow the case open” and guided investigators from a license plate to the car, to the rental records, to photographs, and finally to the storage facility. Neves-Valente was found with a satchel that contained two firearms, and authorities reported evidence in the vehicle that they said matched items used in the Providence scene. They also said Neves-Valente had swapped license plates on the vehicle at different times, mentioning both Florida and Maine plates being used.
The Providence press conference, after several delays, returned confirmation that the person seen in distributed videos was indeed the suspect. Fox News reporter Brooke Taylor shared that the suspected shooter had been found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound prior to the law enforcement announcement. Investigators did not disclose all scene-level details publicly, citing ongoing work and coordination with other jurisdictions that are handling related elements of the case. Massachusetts authorities were expected to hold their own briefings about an alleged connection to a separate killing.
Federal and local leaders confirmed a link between the Brown attack and the murder of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro at his Brookline home earlier in the week. FBI Special Agent in Charge Ted Docks acknowledged that initial assessments did not show a connection but that evidence subsequently solidified the view that the two incidents were tied to the same individual. Officials said the investigation into the Massachusetts killing is being led separately by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and local partners, limiting what Providence investigators could share on that front.
Brown University President Christina Paxson noted that Neves-Valente had studied physics on campus in the early 2000s and likely spent significant time in the Barus and Holley engineering building where the classroom shooting took place. She emphasized that he had no current affiliation with the university and that the campus community was grappling with the shock and loss. University representatives and law enforcement officials stressed they were working to support victims, families, and campus safety while investigators completed their forensic and legal steps.
Authorities stated their current belief that Neves-Valente acted alone and that, as far as they know, there was no known antisemitic component to the attacks. Many questions remain, including motive and the full timeline of his travel and contacts across New England. Investigators are continuing to collect records, analyze evidence from the storage facility and vehicle, and coordinate with Massachusetts officials to fill in gaps left by the suspect’s death.
The affidavit used to secure an arrest warrant for Neves-Valente before his death and additional details were released through a Rhode Island law enforcement statement that outlines the procedural steps taken by investigators. Officials refrained from offering speculative conclusions about motive, repeating that their focus remains on evidence and cross-jurisdictional facts. As the legal and investigative paperwork moves forward, families and campus communities continue to seek clarity about how these events unfolded and why.
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