Brown University suspected gunman also linked to MIT professor fatal shooting, officials say

The suspect in the deadly Brown University shooting that left two students dead and nine injured was found dead inside a storage facility in New Hampshire on Thursday evening, officials said during a news conference. 

The suspect had taken his own life, investigators confirmed. 

Officials also confirmed in a separate news conference held in Massachusetts, that the same gunman was responsible for the shooting death of Nuno Loureiro, a professor at MIT. 

Police on scene at the Extra Space Storage facility where the Brown University shooting suspect was found dead on Dec. 18, 2025. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Who was the Brown University gunman?

What we know:

Investigators identified the Brown University shooter as Claudio Nieves Valente, 48. He was a former student at Brown and was a Portuguese national, officials said during a news conference on Thursday evening.

He was found dead with a satchel which contained two firearms, officials said. 

Valente was enrolled at Brown in 2000 before he formally withdrew in 2003. He was pursuing a Ph.D. in physics. He was in the United States on a student visa and had applied for a green card. 

Officials also said it was believed that both Valente and Loureiro attended the same academic program in Portugal. It was also believed that they knew each other. 

What we don't know:

A motive was not immediately released. 

Brown University shooting

The backstory:

Two students were killed and nine others wounded after a shooting inside a Brown University classroom on Dec. 13. 

Investigators have released several videos from the hours and minutes before and after the shooting that show a person who, according to police, matches witnesses' description of the shooter. In the clips, the person is standing, walking and even running along streets just off campus, but always with a mask on or their head turned.

A second individual who was identified in proximity to the suspect came forward after Wednesday’s press conference and helped "blow the lid" off the case, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said.

"When you crack it, you crack it. That person led us to the car, led us to the name," Neronha said.

Although Brown officials say there are 1,200 cameras on campus, the attack happened in an older part of the engineering building that has few, if any, cameras. And investigators believe the shooter entered and left through a door that faces a residential street bordering campus, which might explain why the cameras Brown does have didn’t capture footage of the person.

MIT professor shot and killed

UPDATE: MIT professor shot, killed in Brookline home

Authorities are investigating the death of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor after he was found fatally shot inside his Boston-area apartment earlier this week. Sam Mintz with Brookline.News joined LiveNOW's Josh Breslow to discuss the latest on the investigation.

Officials in Massachusetts confirmed that Valente allegedly killed Loureiro on Dec. 15. 

The backstory:

About 50 miles north of Brown University, Boston-area police are investigating the shooting death of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor earlier this week. 

Loureiro was attacked at his home Monday, and no one has been arrested or named as a suspect. The FBI previously said it had no reason to think his killing was linked to the Brown attack.

Loureiro was a professor in the departments of Nuclear Science & Engineering and Physics. He was also the director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center.