The man suspected of carrying out the deadly shooting at Brown University, which killed two students, was later found dead inside a storage unit after also killing an MIT professor — a crime that brought to light a connection between the two men dating back decades. The suspect, identified as Claudio Neves Valente, 48, was a Portuguese national who had studied at the Ivy League school in Rhode Island more than 20 years earlier.
Valente, 48, was once a student at Brown University, where he studied for a master's degree in physics between 2000 and 2001. However, the gunman later took a leave of absence and eventually left the program altogether.
Motive Still Unclear
Investigators have not yet determined what drove Valente to carry out the attack at the Rhode Island campus, where he killed 18-year-old Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov of Virginia and 19-year-old Ella Cook of Alabama.
Brown University President Christina Paxson said it was likely Valente had once taken classes inside the same building during his time as a student.
The shooting unfolded on December 13 during a study session inside the Ivy League school's Barus and Holley Building, which houses the School of Engineering. Just two days later, authorities say Valente shot and killed MIT professor Nuno Loureiro inside the professor's Boston-area home.
Police later revealed that Loureiro was the gunman's original intended target and that the two men had studied at the same school in Portugal between 1995 and 2000. However, investigators have not clarified the nature of their relationship or identified a motive for the attacks.
According to sources, Valente's 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.
End of the Ordeal
The case came to an end after a six-day manhunt, when authorities tracked down a vehicle linked to Valente parked outside a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire — more than 80 miles from Brown's campus — where he was ultimately found dead.
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.
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.
