The suspect in the Brown University shooting, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, on Friday, according to law enforcement officials.
The attack occurred on Saturday, December 13, 2025, at Brown University’s Barus and Holley science building, where a masked gunman opened fire during a student review session. Two students were killed: MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, a scholarship recipient from Uzbekistan, and Ella Cook, a pianist and vice president of the campus Republican Club. Nine others were injured in the attack.
Authorities confirmed that Valente is also believed to be responsible for the killing of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro, who was shot earlier this week, in his home in Brookline, on Monday. The investigation into the motive remains ongoing, with officials stating there is no evidence of a criminal record or accomplices.
Valente, a former Brown University student, was enrolled in a PhD program in physics from fall 2000 to spring 2001 but withdrew and had no current affiliation with the university. He was a Portuguese national who obtained permanent U.S. residency through the diversity visa program in 2017; had a last known address in Miami, Florida, and had been moving around New England since October 2025.
Officials stated there is no indication that Valente knew any of the Brown students who were in the room during the shooting.
F.G. Loureiro, a Portuguese national and professor in the departments of Nuclear Science & Engineering and Physics at MIT, was the director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center.
Authorities believe the suspect and Loureiro attended the same academic program at a university in Lisbon, Portugal, from 1995 to 2000, suggesting a personal connection.
The same rental car used in the Brown University attack was linked to the scene of Loureiro’s killing, helping to connect the two cases.
A tip from a member of the public who had encountered Valente near Brown University campus earlier in the day led investigators to his identity, helping to "blow the case open."
According to witnesses and court documents, a man who reportedly sleeps in the basement of Brown University's Barus and Holley building told police he spotted the suspect in the basement area earlier on the day of the shooting and followed him outside.
As the witness approached the suspect, he observed the man walking toward a gray Nissan vehicle and unlocking it with a key fob. However, upon noticing the witness, the suspect backed away, relocked the car, and walked off.
Following the shooting, the witness posted on Reddit: “I’m being dead serious. The police need to look into a grey Nissan with Florida plates, possibly a rental.” The post continued: “I know because he used his key fob to open the car, approached it and then something prompted him to back away. When he backed away, he relocked the car. I found that odd so when he circled the block I approached the car that is when I saw the Florida plates.”
This Reddit tip led investigators to the vehicle, which ultimately helped identify and track the suspect, Valente.
Law enforcement obtained a federal search warrant for a storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire, where Valente was found dead. Inside the unit, investigators recovered two 9 mm Glocks (one with a green laser device), high-capacity magazines, a bulletproof vest, and the jacket seen in surveillance footage.
The FBI deployed approximately 500 agents to assist in the investigation, and the Polícia Judiciária (Portugal’s judicial police) is supporting U.S. authorities.
The Trump administration announced the suspension of the diversity immigrant visa program, citing the suspect’s entry via the program.
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A person of interest in the Saturday shooting at Brown University that killed two students and injured nine others has been detained, according to Providence police. The incident occurred at about 4:00 p.m. in the Barus and Holley engineering building during final exams, with one of the victims reportedly involved in a Principles of Economics review session.
The gunman, described as a male dressed entirely in black and possibly wearing a dark camouflage mask, fled the scene on foot after opening fire in a first-floor classroom within the seven-story Barus and Holley building, which houses the School of Engineering and the Physics Department.
Surveillance footage released by police shows the suspect exiting the building on Hope Street, but it remains unclear if this individual is the same person detained.
The suspect, identified as 24-year-old Benjamin Erickson from Wisconsin, was taken into custody early Sunday morning at a Hampton Inn in Coventry, Rhode Island, following a tip from law enforcement. Authorities confirmed he was in possession of two firearms at the time of his arrest. The FBI and local police collaborated on the operation, which concluded with no further suspects sought.
Erickson is not currently enrolled at Brown University, and authorities are investigating his potential connection to the campus and his mental health history.
All victims, including the two deceased, were students at Brown University, though their identities have not yet been publicly released. One of the injured students, 18-year-old Spencer Yang, was shot in the leg while helping another student and is recovering in a Rhode Island hospital.
Brown University President Christina Paxson announced the cancellation of all remaining classes, exams, papers, and projects for the fall 2025 semester due to the tragedy.
A shelter-in-place order for the campus and surrounding areas was lifted at 5:42 a.m. Sunday, though access to certain areas remains restricted due to ongoing police investigations.
Federal and state officials, including President Donald Trump, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Attorney General Pam Bondi, expressed condolences and called for prayers.
