Reddit Post Helped ID Brown, MIT Shooter —Found Dead After Multi-Day Manhunt
The suspect in the killing of two Brown University students Saturday and an MIT professor two days later was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a New Hampshire storage unit Thursday evening. Now investigators say they’re searching for a motive.
What we know about the suspect: Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national, studied at Brown University in the early 2000s and became a legal permanent U.S. resident in 2017, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said Thursday evening. His last known address was in Miami, Florida.
He dropped out of a graduate physics program at Brown in 2003. University president Christina Paxson said “it is safe to assume” that the shooter spent a lot of time in the building where he opened fire on students.
Neves-Valente previously attended the same academic program in Portugal as MIT professor Nuno F. G. Loureiro, whom authorities say Neves-Valente killed on Monday at the professor’s home in Brookline, MA.
Police tracked a rental car reservation to link him to both shootings, but Foley added that he was “sophisticated in hiding his tracks.” Authorities say a key breakthrough came in the form of a Reddit post from someone who came in contact with him.uled 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.
HOW THEY FOUND HIM
Days after the Brown shooting, police received an anonymous tip directing them to a Reddit post that warned authorities to look into a gray Nissan with Florida plates, possibly a rental. The Reddit user said he had a strange and concerning encounter with Neves-Valente inside a bathroom on the ground floor of Brown’s Barus and Holley building, where the shooting happened. After the post, the author spoke to police directly.
According to an affidavit, the witness followed Neves-Valente after their initial encounter, in what he described as a “game of cat and mouse.” Neves-Valente appeared to circle the block and abruptly change directions after spotting him.
When confronted, Neves-Valente reportedly said, “I don’t know you from nobody,” and repeatedly asked why he was being harassed.
A university custodian also reported seeing a suspicious masked man whose clothing matched images police later released, noting he walked with a limp. Detectives found Dec. 1 surveillance footage matching that description.
Neves-Valente at a car rental office in Boston in November. Via: Providence Police Department
Authorities say Neves-Valente rented a car in Boston in November. He traveled to Providence to carry out the Dec. 13 shooting at Brown, killing Ella Cook and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov and injuring nine others. He then returned to Massachusetts and killed Loureiro on Dec. 15.
Bottom line: All the tips, along with home camera footage, helped authorities zero in on Neves-Valente and obtain a search warrant for a storage unit in Salem, NH, where he was found. There, police located the car believed to be connected to him, though Neves-Valente had switched its license plates.
WHAT’S NEXT
Law enforcement have not identified a motive in either attack. There is so far no indication Neves-Valente knew any of the Brown students, but a former classmate described him as unhappy and often angry during his time at the school. Authorities say he acted alone.
Policy moves: The Trump administration announced it is pausing the diversity visa lottery program, which officials said Neves-Valente used to enter the U.S. in 2017 before obtaining a green card. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the program posed security risks and should not continue.
Each year, up to 50,000 immigrants are awarded such visas, but must still undergo a lengthy application process and vetting.
