Authorities ended a tense multi-state manhunt on December 18, 2025, when Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, the 48-year-old suspect in a deadly shooting at Brown University, was discovered dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a rented storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire.
The attack occurred on December 13, 2025, inside the Barus and Holley engineering building on Brown’s Providence, Rhode Island, campus. Valente allegedly entered a classroom and opened fire, killing two students—19-year-old Ella Cook and 18-year-old Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov—and injuring nine others.
Investigators also linked Valente to the murder of MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro, a 47-year-old nuclear science expert, who was fatally shot at his Brookline, Massachusetts, home around December 15-16. Ballistics, surveillance, and a rental car connected the crimes.
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
The Portugal Connection
Valente and Loureiro, both Portuguese nationals, attended the same physics program at Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon from 1995 to 2000. Authorities confirmed they knew each other from this period, though the precise motive for targeting Loureiro—or the Brown shooting—remains unclear. Valente had enrolled in Brown’s physics PhD program in 2000 but withdrew in 2003 without a degree, later gaining U.S. permanent residency in 2017.
Crucial Tip from Homeless Former Brown Student
A breakthrough came from a Reddit post by a homeless man identified only as “John,” a former Brown University student who frequently slept in the basement of the Barus and Holley building. Hours before the shooting, John encountered a suspicious man (later identified as Valente) in the building’s bathroom and followed him outside, noting his inadequate clothing and a gray Nissan rental car with Florida plates.
After recognizing surveillance images of the suspect, John posted urgently on Reddit: “I’m being dead serious. The police need to look into a grey Nissan with Florida plates, possibly a rental.” An anonymous tip alerted authorities to the post, and John later came forward in person, providing details that “blew the case wide open,” according to Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha. This led investigators to trace the rental car to Valente and the New Hampshire storage unit he had rented in November.
Firearms matching those used in the attacks were recovered beside Valente’s body. While the resolution eased fears in the Brown and MIT communities, lingering questions about motives persist, with ongoing investigations.
SOURCES:
Suspect in Brown University shooting and MIT professor killing found dead : NPR
Brown University Shooting Suspect Is Found Dead: Live Updates – The New York Times
Brown University shooting suspect identified as Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente | Fox News
Suspect in deadly Brown University shooting found dead
Suspect in Brown U. shooting, MIT professor slaying found dead in NH | WPRI.com
Man suspected in Brown University shooting found dead in New Hampshire storage facility
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