Suspect found. What to know about Brown University, MIT shooter

Authorities announced on December 18 that they had tracked down the man responsible for both the fatal shooting at Brown University and the shooting death of Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno FG Loureiro two days later, finding him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a warehouse in Salem, Massachusetts.

Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, originally from Portugal, was a former Brown University doctoral physics student who knew Loureiro, authorities said at two separate news conferences on the night of Dec. 18.

Investigators said they identified Valente on the afternoon of Dec. 17 and were able to connect him to both crime scenes through financial history information, including rental records for the car he rented and drove back to Providence and Massachusetts.

The shootings at Brown shook the Ivy League school and the community around the school.

At the news conference in Boston, authorities said Valente was “savvy at covering his tracks,” including hiding his cell phone so he couldn’t be tracked, changing the license plates on his rental car and not using a credit card in his own name.

The affidavit, signed by a Rhode Island district judge, said police solved the case after a tipster recognized a rental car driving around the area. The tipster said police were looking for a gray Nissan Altima and license plate; This was information that the police had not previously released. Police later tracked down footage of Neves Valente renting the car at the Alamo location in Boston.

Here’s what you need to know about the shooter:

When did Claudio Manuel Neves Valente enter the United States?

Neves Valente entered the country in 2000 on a student F-1 visa. He was accepted as a legal permanent resident in 2017.

Brown officials say he was a doctoral student before taking a leave of absence in April 2001. Filmed on July 31, 2003. His last known address was in Miami, according to police.

The tipster first took to social media site Reddit and wrote: “I’m serious. Police need to look at a gray Nissan with Florida plates, probably rented.” John, whose last name is withheld by authorities, wrote the following, according to the affidavit.

When was the identity revealed?

The announcement came after authorities called on the public to help expand the investigation and spend days searching for the man suspected of carrying out the attack. Earlier in the week, authorities released enhanced images and video footage of the man investigators believe may be connected to the shooting that killed two people and injured nine others.

Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said investigators have evidence that the possible suspect was near the university hours before the shooting. Footage from neighborhood cameras shared by authorities shows a person in dark clothing and a mask walking on the streets a few blocks away from the campus on December 13.

Investigators believe the person was likely “surveilling” the scene, according to Perez.

“There are multiple clues here that point to the man in this video as the person who committed this tragedy,” the police chief said.

Although authorities said on December 16 that they were sure that the person in the video was the suspect, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha stated that they had “zero” evidence regarding the purpose of the attack. Witnesses said the man was likely in his 30s and it was unclear whether he was affiliated with the university, Perez said.

‘Bright light’ and ‘role model’. Brown University victims remembered

Authorities release video timeline of potential suspect’s movements

According to Perez, police have received more than 200 tips since the shooting. The police chief asked for the public’s help in identifying the suspected gunman, saying investigators hope the new footage will help someone identify the person.

“Focus on body movements, the way the person moves their arms, their body posture, the way they carry the weight,” Perez said. “I think these are important movement patterns that can help you identify this person, which is extremely important.”

The footage included a timeline video consisting of neighborhood cameras and surveillance video from a vehicle’s dashcam.

In one of the videos, the suspected attacker is seen leaving the scene as a police car arrives with its emergency lights flashing. In the latest video, the suspect is seen walking on that street a few minutes after the attack.

Did the suspect target Brown University?

The shooting at the Ivy League university occurred shortly before 4:05 pm local time on December 13, in an engineering building whose doors were unlocked while final exams were in progress. Authorities said the suspect opened fire with a 9mm gun in a classroom and then fled.

The conflict led to a campus lockdown that left students barricaded in rooms or hiding for hours. Officers found 9mm bullet casings at the scene, and Perez said investigators believe the suspect was “definitely targeting Brown University.”

2 students died and 9 people were injured in the attack. The two students killed were identified as Ella Cook, a sophomore from Mountain Brook, Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, a freshman from Virginia who immigrated from Uzbekistan.

As of December 16, two of the injured students were discharged from the hospital. Of the seven people hospitalized, one was in critical condition, five were in critical but stable condition and one was in stable condition, officials said.

Brown UniversityThe university, which has nearly 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students, is considered one of the most prestigious colleges in the country. Brown was founded in 1764 and is located in Providence, Rhode Island.

This is an evolving story.

This article first appeared on USA TODAY: MIT suspect Brown was found dead. Things to know about Claudio Manuel Neves Valente