Suspect in Brown University shooting and MIT professor’s killing was once a physics student

Divergent Paths: Suspect in Brown, MIT Killings Shared a Past with Victim

This image provided by Providence Police Dept. shows surveillance images of Claudio Neves Valente, a suspect in the mass shooting at Brown University. (via www.universalheadlines.gleeze.com)

The investigation into a recent string of fatal shootings at Brown University and the killing of an MIT professor has uncovered a chilling connection between the alleged perpetrator and one of his victims: a shared academic history that began decades ago in Portugal. Authorities have identified the suspect as 48-year-old Claudio Neves Valente, whose life trajectory dramatically diverged from that of his former classmate, Nuno F.G. Loureiro, a successful scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A Shared Beginning and a Dark Turn

Neves Valente and Loureiro were once promising physics students in their native Portugal, attending the same program at the prestigious Instituto Superior Técnico from 1995 to 2000. Both men eventually made their way to the United States to pursue higher education at elite East Coast institutions. However, their paths diverged sharply after their initial academic success.

Loureiro, a 47-year-old scientist from Viseu, Portugal, flourished in his career. He joined MIT in 2016 and was appointed to lead the university's Plasma Science and Fusion Center, one of its largest laboratories, last year. His work focused on explaining the physics behind complex astronomical phenomena, such as solar flares.

In stark contrast, Neves Valente's academic career stalled. He was let go from his position at the Lisbon university in 2000 and subsequently enrolled as a graduate student at Brown University. He took a leave of absence in 2001 and formally withdrew from the program in 2003 without earning a degree. At the time of the recent events, the last two decades of his life remained largely a mystery. He was renting a room in a working-class neighborhood near Miami, and his employment status was unclear, though a witness to the Brown shooting noted he was wearing clothing typical of a restaurant worker. Neves Valente had obtained legal permanent residence status in the U.S. in 2017.

The Sequence of Tragedies

The violence began on a recent Saturday with a mass shooting in a Brown University lecture hall, where Neves Valente was a former graduate student. Two students were fatally shot, and nine other individuals were wounded.

Two days later, on Monday, investigators believe Neves Valente traveled approximately 50 miles from Providence to the Boston suburbs and killed his former classmate, Professor Loureiro, at the professor's home.

The search for Neves Valente concluded on Thursday when he was found dead at a New Hampshire storage facility from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. An autopsy determined he had died on Tuesday, suggesting his death occurred shortly after the killing of Professor Loureiro.

Unanswered Questions

The motive behind the shootings remains unknown, and authorities have not provided details on any recent contact or history between Neves Valente and Loureiro.

Brown University President Christina Paxson confirmed that Neves Valente would have spent time in the building where the shooting occurred during his time as a physics student, but the university found no record of recent contact or any public safety concerns during his enrollment.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha acknowledged the many "unknowns" in the case, stating, "We don’t know why now, why Brown, why these students and why this classroom." The investigation continues as authorities attempt to piece together the events that led a former physics prodigy to a path of violence against his former university and his successful peer.