The Providence Police Department, in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, and Massachusetts state authorities, provides the following update regarding the mass shooting at Brown University on December 13 and the subsequent homicide of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor.
Following an intensive six-day multi-state manhunt, the suspect, identified as Claudio Neves Valente (48), a Portuguese national, was found deceased late Thursday at a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire. Initial findings by medical examiners suggest the cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
At the scene, investigators recovered a satchel and two firearms. A vehicle located in the vicinity contained evidence directly linking Valente to the shooting at Brown University’s Barus & Holley building.
The person suspected of killing two Brown University students and injured nine others Saturday — who was also connected to the murder of an MIT professor in Brookline — was found dead in a storage facility in New Hampshire, police said Thursday night.https://t.co/q80QoWgEgD pic.twitter.com/Jz80Rquexa
— Boston.com (@BostonDotCom) December 19, 2025
Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez stated that the breakthrough in the case came from a combination of public tips and video evidence. Investigators tracked Valente to a car-rental location where his identity was confirmed.
Forensic evidence and CCTV footage have also linked Valente to the homicide of MIT Professor Nuno F. Gomes Loureiro (47), who was killed at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, on Monday. Authorities noted that both the suspect and the victim attended the same university in Portugal in the late 1990s.
“The suspect was sophisticated in his attempts to evade capture, using technology to obfuscate his location and hide his tracks,” said Leah B. Foley, U.S. State Attorney for Massachusetts.
Brown University President Christina Paxson confirmed that Valente was enrolled as a PhD student in physics from the autumn of 2000 to the spring of 2001. He had no current active affiliation with the university at the time of the attacks.
The December 13 attack resulted in the tragic deaths of two students:
- Ella Cook (19), a sophomore from Alabama.
- Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov (18), a freshman from the United States.
Nine additional students were injured in the attack; six remain hospitalized.
“Even though the suspect was found dead tonight, our work is not done. There are many questions that need to be answered,” said FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Ted Docks. The FBI had deployed approximately 500 agents to assist in the manhunt and will continue to work with local police to determine a motive.
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Authorities will continue to process evidence from the Salem storage facility and the suspect’s vehicle. Further updates regarding the condition of the injured students and the progress of the motive investigation will be released as they become available.
The Providence Police Department wishes to thank the public for their patience and for the critical tips that led to the identification of the suspect.
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