NEWS

Suspect in Brown University Shooting Commits Suicide; Also Linked to MIT Professor's Death

Staff December 19, 2025

Claudio Neves Valente, the suspect in the Brown University shooting that killed two students and injured nine, was found dead by suicide at a storage facility. He is also believed to have killed an MIT professor in the Boston area.

Featured image for: Suspect in Brown University shooting committed suicide, officials say Man discovered dead in storage facility also believed to have killed an MIT professor at his Boston-area home A man suspected in the shooting at Brown University this weekend that killed two people and injured nine committed suicide Thursday night, authorities said. The man was discovered dead at a storage facility on Thursday evening. and is also believed to have killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor at his Boston-area home, the AP said, citing a law enforcement official. The US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire put forth a press release indicating that the Brown shooter and MIT professor’s killer were the same person. “The shooter is deceased and there is no longer a threat to the public,” the brief press release said. “He took his own life tonight,” Oscar Perez, chief of the Providence, Rhode Island, police department, said at a press conference. Perez identified the man as Claudio Neves Valente, 48. Authorities believe that he acted alone. Peter Neronha, the attorney general of Rhode Island, said the suspect obtained lawful permanent resident status in September 2017. Neronha said Neves Valente was found dead with a bag, and two firearms, as well as evidence in the car “that matches exactly what we see at the scene here in Providence”. Neronha told reporters that a person with information about the suspected shooter played a key role in finding him. After officials publicized a photo of the suspect some 24 hours ago, an individual “came forward to two Providence police officers over on the east side and said he had information that he was that person and that he had information that could help this case”. “He blew this case right open,” Neronha said at a press conference. “He blew it open.” The person’s information led authorities to a vehicle that helped them find a name, “which led us to the photographs of that individual renting the car, which matched the clothing of our shooter here in Providence, that matched the satchel”, Neronha explained. Neronha said that the suspect tried to evade law enforcement by changing license plates. “This guy was changing plates was one of the reason,” he said. “He knew what he was doing … we got a main plate and we’ve got a Florida plate on the same car.” Brown University president Christina Paxson said that Valente had been enrolled at Brown from fall 2000 to spring 2001 as a graduate student in physics. He took a leave of absence in April 2001 and formally withdrew in 2003 and “has no current affiliation with the university”, Paxson said. Physics classes typically require access to special equipment, Paxson said, which was located in the building where the shooting took place. Ted Docks, FBI special agent in charge of Boston, told reporters that authorities thought the suspect attended the same university in Lisbon as the MIT professor. Confirmation of the suspected shooter’s death comes hours after dozens of law enforcement agents convened on a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire. Shortly before 8pm, journalist Eli Sherman reported: “Multiple law enforcement officials carrying weapons and wearing full tactical gear” entered the storage facility. The manhunt for the shooter had started afresh on Monday morning after the state’s attorney general announced that a person of interest detained on Sunday had been released, a development that Providence mayor Brett Smiley conceded was “likely to cause fresh anxiety for our community”. Smiley told CNN that while the release of the original person of interest had been a setback, “that didn’t mean that the other pieces of the investigation were stopped or in any way paused”. The FBI director, Kash Patel, faced criticism on Monday for rushing to social media to celebrate the bureau’s work, only for the person arrested to be freed hours later. The two students killed were identified by family as Ella Cook, a sophomore from Alabama, and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an Uzbek national in his first year at Brown. Cook was vice-president of Brown’s College Republicans of America chapter; Umurzokov dreamed of becoming a neurosurgeon.

Claudio Neves Valente, 48, the man suspected of carrying out the deadly shooting at Brown University this past weekend, committed suicide Thursday night, authorities confirmed. Valente was discovered dead at a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, in what officials described as a self-inflicted death.

According to law enforcement sources cited by the Associated Press, Valente is also believed to have murdered a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor at his home in the Boston area. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire released a brief statement confirming that the same individual was responsible for both attacks.

"The shooter is deceased and there is no longer a threat to the public," the release stated.

Oscar Perez, chief of the Providence Police Department, identified the suspect during a press conference, confirming Valente acted alone in the shooting that resulted in two deaths and nine injuries on Brown University's campus.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha provided additional details, noting that Valente obtained lawful permanent resident status in September 2017. Authorities found Valente dead alongside a bag and two firearms. Evidence recovered from his vehicle matched details from the Providence shooting scene.

"He took his own life tonight," Perez said, emphasizing that the threat to the community had ended.

Neronha credited a key tip from an individual who came forward after a photo of the suspect was publicly released approximately 24 hours earlier. This information was instrumental in identifying Valente and tracking his movements.

"This person blew the case wide open," Neronha said. The tip led authorities to a vehicle linked to Valente, which in turn yielded photographic evidence of him renting the car. The images matched the suspect's clothing and the satchel seen during the Providence shooting.

Authorities also noted that Valente attempted to evade detection by switching license plates on his vehicle, including using a Florida plate alongside the primary one.

Brown University President Christina Paxson confirmed that Valente had been enrolled as a graduate student in physics from fall 2000 to spring 2001. He took a leave of absence in April 2001 and officially withdrew in 2003. Paxson clarified that he had no current affiliation with the university.

"Physics classes generally require access to specialized equipment," Paxson said, referring to the building where the shooting took place, which housed such facilities.

Ted Docks, FBI Special Agent in Charge for Boston, revealed that Valente and the MIT professor attended the same university in Lisbon, Portugal.

The confirmation of Valente's death came after a large law enforcement presence at the Salem storage facility, where agents in tactical gear entered shortly before 8 p.m. on Thursday.

The manhunt had resumed on Monday morning following the release of a previously detained person of interest. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley acknowledged the release caused renewed anxiety but stressed the investigation continued unabated.

"The release of the original person of interest was a setback," Smiley told CNN, "but that didn't mean other aspects of the investigation were paused or stopped." The FBI director, Kash Patel, faced criticism for prematurely celebrating the bureau’s work on social media before the individual was released.

The two students killed in the Brown University shooting were identified by their families as Ella Cook, a sophomore from Alabama and vice president of Brown’s College Republicans chapter, and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an Uzbek national in his first year at Brown who aspired to become a neurosurgeon.

Authorities continue to investigate the motives behind the shootings and are reviewing the connections between the suspect and his victims.