Brown shooting suspect’s former classmate recalls ‘angry’ behavior

A former classmate of the suspect in the fatal shooting at Brown University and subsequent killing of an MIT professor recalls him being “socially awkward” and “angry” during his years on campus.

Scott Watson, now a professor of physics at Syracuse University, told Fox News that he attended Brown in 2000 with Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, who described him as his “only friend” at the time. Watson said the Portuguese national often complained about life in the United States and at university.

“I was his only friend the whole time he was at Brown. He was socially awkward and so was I, so I guess that’s why we connected,” Watson said. “During orientation, he was sitting alone, so I walked up to him and said hello. He spoke rudely at first, but eventually we broke the ice and became close.”

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Watson said Neves-Valente often expressed frustration with her classes and claimed that classes at Brown were too easy for her.

“He often complained about moving to the United States and college,” Watson said. “He said the classes were very easy; frankly, according to him, they were. He already knew most of the material, and he was really impressive.”

Even campus food was a source of discomfort for Neves-Valente, according to Watson.

“I remember him being upset with the quality of food on campus, especially the lack of quality fish,” he said.

Watson also recalled Neves-Valente’s disruptive behavior toward another student.

“We had another classmate who Claudio insulted and called him his slave. I once had to break up a fight,” Watson said.

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In the split photo, Claudio Neves-Valente, identified as a suspect in the Brown University shooting, is wearing the same jacket as a man previously identified as a person of interest in the case. (Provincial Police Department)

But Watson said there were moments when Neves-Valente seemed calmer.

“I have really fond memories of dinners with him at a local Portuguese restaurant near campus,” he said. “There’s a community there. He could be kind and gentle, but he was often frustrated and sometimes angry with classes, professors, and living conditions.”

The latter two were talking when Neves-Valente decided to leave Brown, Watson said.

“The last time I spoke to him, we went to his apartment and I tried to persuade him not to leave. He refused and that was the last time I heard from him,” she said. “He told me he would return to Portugal, but now it appears that is not the case.”

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A law enforcement official walks past clothing items on the sidewalk near the entrance of Brown University during a shooting investigation, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Providence, Rhode Island. (Steven Senne/AP Photo)

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Neves-Valente, 48, was recently identified as the suspect in the Dec. 13 mass shooting at Brown University that left two students dead and nine others injured.

Authorities later confirmed that he was also a suspect in the December 15 shooting death of MIT nuclear science professor Nuno FG Loureiro, who was found shot to death in his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Neves-Valente was a Portuguese national and a former Brown student who studied physics from fall 2000 to spring 2001 and withdrew from the program in 2003, according to Brown University President Christina Paxson. He had no recent involvement with the university at the time of the campus shooting.

“I was shocked that this happened,” Watson said.

FOX News’ Jennifer Johnson, Brooke Taylor and Stepheny Price contributed to this report.