Brown University shooting suspect found dead after 6 Day multi state manhunt, police say
The suspect in last week’s mass shooting at Brown University has been found dead in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, bringing an end to a six day manhunt that spanned several US states, police have confirmed.
Authorities identified the suspect as Claudio Neves Valente, 48, a Portuguese national who studied at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, around 25 years ago.
Providence police chief Oscar Perez said investigators were led to Valente through video evidence and tips from the public. Those inquiries directed officers to a car rental location, where records helped confirm Valente as the primary person of interest.
Brown University shooting
Officials also believe Valente was responsible for the fatal shooting of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor two days after the 13 December attack at Brown.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said Valente was discovered dead inside the storage unit with a satchel and two firearms. Evidence recovered from a nearby vehicle was consistent with material found at the Brown University crime scene.
Preliminary findings indicate Valente died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police said it was not yet clear how long he had been inside the storage facility.
“Even though the suspect was found dead tonight, our work is not finished,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Ted Docks. “There are many questions that still need to be answered.”
He added that around 500 FBI agents had been deployed to support local law enforcement during the investigation.
Brown University president Christina Paxson confirmed Valente was enrolled at the Ivy League institution from autumn 2000 to spring 2001, where he was studying towards a PhD in physics. She said he had no current or recent affiliation with the university.
Authorities believe Valente also shot and killed MIT professor Nuno F Gomes Loureiro, 47, at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, on Monday. Brookline is about 50 miles, or 80 kilometres, from Providence.
Police said both the suspect and the professor had studied at the same university in Portugal in the late 1990s. Investigators linked the two cases after identifying Valente’s vehicle on CCTV footage and through witness accounts at Brown University. The same car was later seen near the scene of the Brookline shooting.
Leah B Foley, the US attorney for Massachusetts, said Valente had taken steps to avoid detection.
“He was using a phone that made tracking extremely difficult,” she said. “He was sophisticated in hiding his movements.”
Read More: Luigi Mangione Tries to Block 20 Minute Surveillance Footage in CEO Killing Case
Authorities have not disclosed any suspected motive for either attack.
In the days following the Brown University shooting, members of the public voiced frustration over the apparent lack of progress in the investigation. Police had urged patience as officers worked to trace the suspect’s movements.
The attack occurred last Saturday when a gunman entered the Barus and Holley engineering building during final exams and opened fire.
Two students were killed and nine others were injured. Six people remain in hospital.
The victims were named as Ella Cook, 19, a sophomore from Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, a freshman student who was Uzbek American.
On Wednesday, police released new footage of a person of interest showing a man walking around the campus with a black face covering over his mouth. The FBI also offered a reward of $50,000, or £37,350, for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the attack.
