A multi-day manhunt following a mass shooting at Brown University came to an end Thursday evening when authorities located the suspect dead at a storage facility in New Hampshire. Law enforcement officials said the suspect, Claudio Neves Valente, had taken his own life and was also believed to be responsible for the fatal shooting of an MIT professor earlier this week.

Suspect’s Identity and University Ties

Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez said Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national, was a former graduate student at Brown University. He studied physics at the institution from the fall of 2000 through the spring of 2001. Brown University President Christina Paxson emphasized that Valente has had no affiliation with the university for more than two decades.

Investigators believe Valente fatally shot two students and wounded nine others during an attack inside a Brown University lecture hall last Saturday. Two days later, authorities say he killed MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro at the professor’s home in Brookline, Massachusetts, nearly 50 miles from Providence. Officials believe Valente acted alone.

MIT Professor’s Killing and Shared Academic Past

U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah B. Foley said Valente and Loureiro previously attended the same academic program in Portugal. Loureiro graduated in 2000 from the physics program at Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal’s leading engineering school. Archival records show that in the same year, Valente was dismissed from a position at the Lisbon-based institution.

Loureiro joined MIT in 2016 and was appointed last year to lead the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, one of the university’s largest research laboratories. His work focused on explaining the physics behind astronomical phenomena such as solar flares.

How the Investigation Unfolded

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said investigators are still searching for a motive, noting that many questions remain unanswered, including why Brown University and that specific classroom were targeted.

A major breakthrough came from a person who had several encounters with Valente and later recognized him after police released images of a person of interest. The individual shared suspicions on the social media platform Reddit before eventually being interviewed by investigators.

The tip led police to identify a Nissan sedan with Florida license plates. Providence police then relied on a network of more than 70 street cameras operated by a private surveillance company to track the vehicle. Authorities said Valente later placed a Maine license plate over the rental car’s original plate to avoid detection.

Final Movements and Death

Surveillance footage showed Valente entering an apartment building near Loureiro’s residence in a Boston suburb. About an hour later, he was recorded entering a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, where he was later found dead. Investigators said he was carrying a satchel and two firearms.

Campus Security Questions

Brown University officials said the campus has approximately 1,200 security cameras. However, the shooting occurred in an older section of an engineering building with limited camera coverage. Investigators believe the suspect entered and exited through a door facing a nearby residential street, which may explain why no campus cameras captured the attack.

Political Fallout

Following the public identification of the suspect, President Donald Trump announced the suspension of the green card lottery program through which Valente had been allowed to remain in the United States. Authorities said Valente initially studied at Brown on a student visa and later obtained legal permanent resident status in September 2017. His whereabouts between leaving Brown in 2001 and receiving residency status remain unclear.