On Thursday night, authorities announced that the man suspected of the deadly shooting at Brown University and the killing of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro had been found dead in New Hampshire, ending a six-day interstate manhunt.
Investigation and Confirmation
Two people familiar with the investigation confirmed the news around 9 p.m. that same evening, and the suspect was later identified as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, by law-enforcement officials.
FBI Boston special agent in charge Ted Docks said in a news conference at the Providence Public Safety Complex, “We got him”.
Police believe Neves Valente shot and killed himself. His body was discovered after officers swarmed a storage facility at 10 Hampshire Road in Salem, New Hampshire.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said, “Tonight, our Providence neighbors can finally breathe a little easier.”
Suspect Profile and Background
WPRI had earlier reported that police were investigating a possible link between the Brown shooting and the Monday slaying of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro. FBI officials had previously downplayed any connection.
Loureiro and Neves Valente are both natives of Portugal and studied together in the same academic program at a university in Portugal from 1995 to 2000, according to a court document from the FBI’s legal attaché in Lisbon.
Neves Valente’s most recent known address was in Miami. He had attended Brown in 2000 seeking a Ph.D. in physics, took a leave of absence in 2001, and withdrew in 2003, as noted in an affidavit filed in the case.
Brown President Christina Paxson said Neves Valente likely attended most of his classes inside the Barus & Holley building where he opened fire on Saturday.
He later returned to the United States on a diversity-lottery immigrant visa, was lawfully admitted as a legal permanent resident in 2017 at JFK International Airport in New York, per the affidavit. Late Thursday night, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the visa program would be paused at President Trump’s direction, writing, “This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country.”
Law Enforcement Efforts
Providence Police Colonel Oscar Perez said law enforcement tracked Neves Valente thanks to public tips, video surveillance, and detective work across multiple jurisdictions. Governor Dan McKee praised the work of the investigators.
The discovery ends a six-day interstate manhunt that had put multiple communities on edge. Neves Valente is suspected of killing two students and injuring nine more after opening fire inside a Brown classroom on Saturday, as well as killing MIT professor Loureiro.
Evidence at the Crime Scene
An affidavit shows students heard gunfire coming from the rear of the auditorium where Neves Valente opened fire. Some students ran to the teacher’s desk at the front of the auditorium to hide until police arrived.
Police said students could not describe the suspect because he wore a mask. In one instance, a witness was shown a photo of Neves Valente, and she quickly froze, physically pushed back, and became emotional. Police reported she was tearing up and shaking before confirming the image showed the shooter.
Police recovered 44 separate 9-millimeter shell casings, one unfired cartridge casing, and several projectile fragments inside the classroom where he opened fire, according to the affidavit. Ammunition was both hollow point and frangible.
Another 15 spent shell casings were found in the hallway, and 29 spent casings were found in the Tanner auditorium, where police also found two high-capacity magazines.
Public Tips and Vehicle Investigation
Police later identified a person seen ‘in proximity’ to Neves Valente before the shooting, whose photograph was heavily publicized Wednesday. The man, identified only as “John,” was located and told officers that the suspect ran away from him.
R.I. Attorney General Peter Neronha said that man “blew this case wide open.”
Police received a tip through Reddit about a Nissan with Florida plates parked near the Rhode Island Historical Society. The man who posted later approached officers and offered a description of Neves Valente.
He told police he encountered the suspect on George Street, where they would walk past each other and then slow down. At one point, they were standing two feet apart, and he asked Neves Valente, “Your car is back there, why are you circling the block?” The suspect replied, “I don’t know you from nobody,” and repeatedly asked, “Why are you harassing me?”
Tips were corroborated by video evidence. Police used Flock license-plate cameras to identify a Nissan Sentra with Florida plates rented by Neves Valente from a Boston car rental company two weeks before the shooting.
Once police identified Neves Valente, they discovered he had rented another car on Wednesday, and captured images of his unmasked face on surveillance video. Neves Valente made a call on Thursday to change his car drop-off location from Logan Airport to Bradley Airport in Connecticut.
Storage Facility and Final Discovery
At about 5 p.m. Thursday, after an arrest warrant for murder had been signed, police located an abandoned car in Salem, New Hampshire, suspected of being used by the gunman to evade police across New England.
Police eventually zeroed in on a storage facility at 10 Hampshire Rd. in Salem. For hours, officers carrying weapons and wearing tactical gear entered and exited the facility.
Neves Valente was dead when officers found him, Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said at a late-night news conference in Boston. She said there is currently no indication he worked with anyone else, and no known motive.
R.I. State Police Colonel Darnell Weaver thanked the public for providing large quantities of video footage. He also said the endless barrage of rumors, clickbait and other false information online did not help the investigation.
Neves Valente was found with two firearms, according to Attorney General Peter Neronha. He added, “Evidence in the car matches exactly what we see at the scene here in Providence.”
Key Takeaways
- Claudio Neves Valente was identified as the suspect in both the Brown University shooting and the killing of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro.
- The suspect was found dead in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, after a six-day interstate manhunt.
- Evidence at the crime scenes and vehicle investigations linked Neves Valente to the shootings, with no indication of accomplices or a known motive.
With the suspect’s death, authorities have closed the investigation into the two tragic incidents, though questions about the connection between the Brown and MIT shootings remain unanswered.
