PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND — The man suspected of carrying out a mass shooting at Brown University was found dead Thursday night in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, bringing an end to a six-day multi-state manhunt that had gripped the region and rattled higher education campuses.
Federal and state officials identified the suspect as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, a former Brown University graduate student. Investigators confirmed he was also the suspect in the fatal shooting of MIT physicist Nuno F.G. Loureiro earlier this week in Massachusetts. Authorities said Valente died by suicide as law enforcement moved to execute a search warrant at the storage unit.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said evidence recovered from the unit and a rental vehicle linked Valente definitively to the Brown shooting, which killed two students and wounded nine others. A state arrest warrant issued earlier Thursday charged Valente with two counts of murder and more than 20 felony firearms and assault offenses, though officials acknowledged there will be no prosecution.
Investigators said the case “cracked wide open” after a key civilian witness came forward with information about a gray rental car seen near the campus. That tip ultimately led authorities from Providence to Massachusetts and then to New Hampshire.
While officials emphasized relief that the suspect is no longer a threat, they acknowledged the lack of a clear motive and warned against the spread of misinformation that complicated the investigation. Brown University President Christina Paxson said the discovery may bring some relief but does not erase the trauma suffered by students, families, and the broader community.
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