Police Identify Person Of Interest In Brown Shooting, Investigating Link To MIT Professor’s Killing
Investigators appear to have made progress in the search for the Brown University shooter on Thursday, on day six of the investigation. Police say they’ve identified a person of interest and a warrant for their arrest — which you need to show probable cause to obtain.
As of Thursday evening, authorities have not released the person’s name or any additional details, but said they are actively seeking the person of interest.
The development comes as investigators examine a possible link between Saturday’s Brown shooting, which killed two students and injured nine others, and the fatal shooting of an MIT professor days later. The professor was found Monday at his Massachusetts home, about 50 miles away.
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Authorities believe a rented vehicle linked to the person of interest in the Brown case may match the make and model of a car connected to the shooting of the MIT professor in Brookline, Massachusetts. Nuno Loureiro, 47, a professor in the department of nuclear science and engineering, died in the hospital Tuesday morning.
Providence authorities were scheduled to hold a press conference with updates Thursday afternoon, but postponed it as new developments emerged. Outlets are reporting that a press conference could happen “soon,” but not specifying when.
As of Thursday afternoon, the six remaining hospitalized victims from the Brown shooting are all in stable condition.
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The Brown shooting triggered a massive response, with about 400 officers going door to door on campus and through nearby neighborhoods in search of information. The lack of surveillance video — at a school with a $7 billion endowment and more than 1,200 cameras installed in campus buildings — has sparked fierce criticism, as the grainy images of the person of interest appear to come from home security cameras, not the university’s own system.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said the shooting occurred in an older section of a campus building with fewer security cameras, while newer parts of the building do have cameras. Footage from those newer areas captured students fleeing after the gunfire.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said the “building is on the literal edge of the campus, and the person of interest walked out the door (and) as soon as he stepped onto the sidewalk, was no longer on campus.”