The suspect in last weekend’s mass shooting at Brown University was found dead Thursday night inside a storage facility in southern New Hampshire after a multi-state search, authorities said. Investigators identified him as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, a Portuguese national and one-time Brown graduate student, and said he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Officials said Valente was wanted in the fatal shooting of two Brown students and the wounding of nine others during a Saturday attack on the Providence campus. He was also linked to the killing of Massachusetts Institute of Technology physics professor Nuno F. G. Loureiro in Brookline two days later. The discovery in Salem ended a nearly weeklong manhunt that drew local police, the FBI and state agencies across Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Investigators said evidence recovered with Valente, including firearms and personal items, tied him to both crime scenes. A motive remains unknown as authorities move into an evidence-heavy phase that will include ballistics testing and digital forensics.
Police converged on a self-storage complex off Hampshire Road early Thursday evening after investigators traced Valente’s movements through a rented vehicle and surveillance video, officials said. Officers and federal agents closed off the business park, evacuated neighboring units and went door to door as tactical teams prepared to breach. Valente was found inside a rented unit and pronounced dead at the scene. A senior law enforcement official said plate-reader hits and a tip from someone who recognized Valente from images circulated by authorities accelerated the search in the final 24 hours. “This search involved hundreds of leads and a tremendous public response,” the official said, adding that evidence technicians worked through the night inside the facility.
Authorities said Valente had no current affiliation with Brown but studied in the physics department more than two decades ago. Investigators believe he and Loureiro once attended the same program in Portugal before taking separate academic paths in the United States and Europe. On campus, officials identified the students killed as Ella Cook, a sophomore from Alabama, and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, a first-year student from Uzbekistan. Nine others were treated for gunshot wounds after the Saturday attack, which unfolded near academic buildings as students prepared for finals. Providence police said the gunman escaped on foot and into a waiting car as sirens converged on the block.
The timeline threaded through three states. In Providence, detectives mapped cartridge casings and lifted images of the shooter’s clothing from campus cameras. In Brookline, Massachusetts, police documented a break-in and the fatal shooting of Loureiro inside his home two days later. By midweek, after analysts connected a rental car and a sequence of license-plate changes, investigators tracked Valente’s movements up the Interstate 93 corridor into New Hampshire. Items recovered in Salem included two firearms and a shoulder bag described by witnesses near earlier scenes. Officials said there was no sign of additional suspects and that the working theory remains that Valente acted alone.
Brown University President Christina Paxson said the campus would remain open with heightened security and counseling. “We are grieving the loss of two members of our community and supporting those who were injured,” she said in a message to students and staff. At MIT, leaders honored Loureiro’s research career and mentorship, calling his death a devastating blow to colleagues and students. A memorial of flowers and candles grew near the Providence crime scene as finals schedules were adjusted and some events postponed. International student groups said they were coordinating vigils for Umurzokov and Cook after the semester’s end.
Investigators cautioned that key questions remain. Authorities have not released a detailed narrative of the suspect’s activities between the two shootings or what, if any, contact he had with the victims beforehand. The medical examiner in New Hampshire will issue an official ruling on Valente’s cause and manner of death. Ballistics comparisons will examine whether shell casings and bullets from Providence and Brookline match the firearms found in Salem. Analysts are also reviewing phones, computers and storage records to build a minute-by-minute account of his movements and to determine whether any other crimes were planned or foiled.
The search touched off familiar campus safety debates while focusing attention on the mechanics of the manhunt. Law enforcement officials described a steady flow of tips—some spurred by media releases of still images and others from people who knew Valente years ago. Detectives said license plate changes complicated early tracking but also left a trail through toll readers and gas station cameras. The FBI supported local departments with analysts and social media outreach, while state police units managed checkpoints and patrols along likely routes out of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. By late Thursday, officials said they were confident the threat to campuses had passed.
Procedurally, the case now shifts from a fugitive search to a comprehensive review of evidence and agency after-action reports. Prosecutors in Massachusetts and Rhode Island said they will summarize findings and outline the investigative path in coming days, including any grand jury steps related to the Brookline homicide. With the suspect deceased, no criminal proceedings are expected, but victim notifications, campus briefings and public records will continue. Universities said counseling services would remain available through finals and into the holiday period for those affected by the violence.
The storage facility in Salem reopened portions of the property Friday as evidence teams cleared units and returned items to management. Police presence remained visible along Hampshire Road through the morning. At Brown, students finished exams under increased patrols as crews removed temporary lighting and barriers from the shooting scene. In Providence’s East Side neighborhood, residents left notes and candles beneath a lamppost, a small memorial that grew steadily through the day.
By early Friday, investigators had publicly confirmed Valente’s identity, said there was no continuing threat to campuses in the region and began preparing a fuller timeline of his movements. The next expected update is a briefing on laboratory results and a detailed chronology of the suspect’s travel in the days before his death.
Author note: Last updated December 19, 2025.