Brown University shooting suspect died from self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials say | Brown University shooting

A man suspected of killing two people and wounding several others at Brown University was found dead at a New Hampshire storage facility where he rented a unit, authorities said.

Claudio Neves Valente, 48, a Portuguese national and former Brown student, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Thursday evening, Providence police Chief Oscar Perez said at a news conference. Perez said that as far as investigators know, the suspect acted alone.

Valente is also believed to have killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor at his Boston-area home, the AP reported, citing a law enforcement official. Authorities have not officially confirmed a connection between the two shootings.

“He took his own life tonight,” Perez said at the news conference, where he identified Valente and described the chain of events that led law enforcement to the storage facility.

Neronha said Valente was found dead with a briefcase and two firearms, and also said evidence in the car “exactly matched what we saw at the crime scene in Providence.”

Neronha told reporters that a person with information about the suspected attacker played a key role in finding him. After authorities released a photo of the suspect about 24 hours ago, a person “approached two Providence police officers on the east side and said he had information that that person was him and that he had information that could help this case.”

“He blew up this case,” Neronha said at a press conference. “He opened the door.”

Neronha explained that the person’s information led authorities to a tool that would help them find a name, “which led us to photos of our shooter in Providence, which matched his bag, which matched the clothing of the person who rented the car.”

Neronha said the suspect tried to evade law enforcement by changing his license plate.

“This guy changing the plates was one of the reasons,” he said. “He knew what he was doing…we have a home plate and a Florida plate on the same car.”

Brown University president Christina Paxson said Valente was enrolled at Brown from fall 2000 to spring 2001. He was accepted to graduate school to study physics starting in September 2000. “He has no current affiliation with the university,” he said.

Physics classes often require access to special equipment located in the building where the shooting took place, Paxson said.

Two people were killed and nine others were injured in a mass shooting in Brown on Saturday.

The investigation took a turn Thursday when authorities said they were investigating a connection between the mass shooting at Brown and the attack that killed 47-year-old MIT professor Nuno FG Loureiro two days later near Boston.

Ted Docks, the FBI’s special agent in charge of Boston, told reporters that authorities believe the suspect studied at the same university in Lisbon as the MIT professor.

Rhode Island attorney general Peter Neronha said the suspect obtained legal permanent resident status in September 2017.

Confirmation of the suspected attacker’s death came hours after dozens of law enforcement officials gathered at a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire. Shortly before 8 p.m., journalist Eli Sherman reported: “Several law enforcement officers carrying weapons and wearing full tactical gear” entered the storage facility.

The manhunt for the attacker resumed Monday morning after the state attorney general announced the release of a man detained Sunday; Providence mayor Brett Smiley acknowledged that this development “will likely raise new concerns for our community.”

Smiley told CNN that the release of the primary person of interest was a setback, but it did not mean that other parts of the investigation were stopped or paused in any way.

FBI director Kash Patel faced criticism on Monday for taking to social media to celebrate the bureau’s work, but the man arrested was released hours later.

The two students killed were identified by their families as Ella Cook, a sophomore from Alabama, and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an Uzbek citizen in his first year at Brown. Cook was vice president of Brown College’s American Republicans; Umurzokov dreamed of becoming a neurosurgeon.