The gunman involved in Saturday's deadly shooting at Brown University has been identified as Claudio Neves Valente, a Portuguese national who was a student at the Ivy League school more than 20 years ago, according to Providence. Authorities said Valente was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after an extensive manhunt that lasted nearly a week.
Valente, 48, was once a student at Brown University, where he studied for a master's degree in physics between 2000 and 2001. He later took a leave of absence and eventually left the program altogether. It remains unclear why Valente carried out the attack at the Rhode Island campus and killed two students.
Face of Evil
The two students — 18-year-old Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov from Virginia and 19-year-old Ella Cook from Alabama — were taking part in a study session inside the Ivy League school's School of Engineering Barus and Holley Building, when Valente opened fire.
Valente, who had been living in Miami, was found dead inside a storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire, on Thursday. Police said he had a satchel and two firearms with him when authorities executed a search warrant at the facility around 9 p.m. on Thursday.
Investigators also revealed that Valente had studied in Lisbon alongside MIT nuclear science professor Nuno Loureiro, 47, who was found murdered Monday inside his $1.4 million townhouse in the affluent Boston suburb of Brookline, Massachusetts. Police are now investigating whether there could be any connection, as the investigation remains ongoing.
According to sources, Valente's likely target was Loureiro and he was looking for him in the school before opening fire on the students. Although Valente's motive remains unclear, sources say, he likely has an old grudge against Loureiro that led to the killings.
Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez confirmed the developments during a Thursday night press conference, marking the fifth day of an extensive, citywide search for the suspected gunman.
Link Still Remains Unclear
On Saturday, Valente walked into Brown University's Barus & Holley building in Rhode Island and began shooting inside a lecture hall, killing Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore from Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman of Uzbek American heritage.
Nine more were injured in the burst of gunfire, and as of Wednesday, six of them were still being treated in the hospital.
Police later shared grainy surveillance footage and still images from around the university, showing the heavyset suspect walking along city streets both before and after the mass shooting.
Following the release of the initial video, 24-year-old Benjamin Erickson was briefly taken into custody and questioned on Sunday. Authorities soon acknowledged the mistake, admitting they had detained the wrong person, and he was quickly released.
Authorities have found a rented gray Nissan Sentra that they believe was used by the suspect. Sources told The New York Post that the car matches the make and model of a vehicle investigators think may also be linked to the killing of Loureiro.
