Hunt for college serial killer? Police investigate link between Brown University shooting and assassination of MIT professor as cops release CCTV of person of interest and start search of town 85 miles from crime scene

A mass shooting at Brown University that left two students dead may be linked to the shooting death of a senior MIT professor two days later, police said.

Investigators are investigating whether the same attacker carried out both attacks.

Officers released CCTV footage of the suspect and expanded the manhunt to Salem, New Hampshire, approximately 85 miles from the Brown campus, as the suspect was still at large and no arrests had been made.

An unidentified gunman opened fire shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday during a study session at the Ivy League University School of Engineering in Providence, Rhode Island.

The attacker entered the Barus and Holley Building and fired approximately 40 shots, killing Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov from Virginia and Ella Cook from Alabama, wounding 12 others, and then fled the scene.

Despite a major police operation, investigators have so far failed to find the shooter.

Detectives are now examining whether the attack is connected to the fatal shooting of Nuno FG Loureiro, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who was shot to death at his home in Brookline, near Boston, around 8:30 p.m. Monday evening — about 50 miles from the Brown campus.

Law enforcement sources say the suspected Brown shooter rented a vehicle that was later found near the scene of Professor Loureiro’s murder.

Officers released CCTV footage of the suspect and expanded the manhunt to Salem, New Hampshire, approximately 85 miles from the Brown campus, as the suspect was still at large and no arrests had been made.

The car was the same make and model as the vehicle identified in connection with the MIT professor’s death, according to CBS News.

Unnamed police sources told NBC10 that investigators made the possible connection after tracking down an overdue rental car believed to be linked to both shootings; a development described by local broadcaster WPRI as ‘a new development in the case’.

FBI agent Ted Docks said earlier this week that ‘there does not appear to be any connection’ between the two attacks, but investigators later confirmed they were actively investigating whether the incidents were linked.

The manhunt has now moved to Salem, New Hampshire, about 85 miles north of Brown University, where police are searching for the unnamed suspect.

Authorities released grainy CCTV footage showing a shadowy figure dressed in dark clothing and appealed for the public to help identify him.

A person of interest was detained at the Hampton Inn in Coventry, Rhode Island, the day after the Brown attack, but was later released without charges.

No arrests have been made and no suspects have been named publicly.

Professor Loureiro, 47, was married with three children and the recently appointed director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, which employs more than 250 researchers.

Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov (pictured left), the second Brown University victim killed on Saturday, was referred to as an aspiring neurosurgeon and ‘ball of joy’ by his roommate.

Married father of three, Nuno FG Loureiro (pictured), 47, was shot dead at his home in a leafy suburb of Boston at 8.30pm by an unidentified assailant who is still at large.

Louise Cohen, a neighbor, said she found his body after hearing gunshots on their normally quiet street.

He told police he lit a menorah candle when he heard the gunshots, then ran into the hallway and found Loureiro lying on his back.

Loureiro’s wife and another neighbor were also there when he called 911. Loureiro was taken to hospital but died the next day.

Loureiro’s neighbors remembered him as a kind-hearted, ‘wonderful man’, while students flocked to a candlelit memorial service in his memory.

MIT commemorated Loureiro as a ‘lauded theoretical physicist and fusion scientist’, noting that he earned his PhD at Imperial College London in 2005 and later worked at the UK Atomic Energy Agency’s Culham Center for Fusion Energy.

MIT President Sally Kornbluth said the murder occurred during a ‘disturbing period of violence’, adding: ‘It’s completely natural to need comfort and support.’

The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office confirmed that no arrests had been made in Loureiro’s death and described it as an ‘active and ongoing homicide investigation.’

While Loureiro’s neighbors remembered him as a kind-hearted, ‘wonderful man’, students flocked to the candlelit memorial service, as seen in the photo above.

Police continue to urge anyone with information to come forward, particularly in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Loureiro specialized in nuclear science, engineering and physics. According to his MIT obituary, he leaves behind “many devoted students, friends and colleagues.”

His academic career began at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal, where he earned a degree in physics.

Loureiro earned a PhD in physics from Imperial College London in 2005, before starting postdoctoral work at Princeton the same year.

He also worked at the UK Atomic Energy Agency’s Culham Center for Fusion Energy between 2007 and 2009.

Loureiro’s neighbors remembered him as a kind-hearted, ‘wonderful man’, while students flocked to a candlelit memorial service in his memory.

MIT President Sally Kornbluth acknowledged the beloved professor’s death following the Brown University shooting just two days earlier.

‘This shocking loss for our community comes at a time of disturbing violence in many other places,’ he said in a statement.

‘It’s completely natural to need comfort and support.

‘If you or anyone you know is looking for advice or just to listen, I invite you to take advantage of our many resources on campus.

‘Over time, the many communities to which Nuno belonged will create opportunities to mourn his loss and celebrate his life.’