Claudio Neves Valente, 48, a Portuguese national, committed the Brown University shooting on December 13, which killed two people and wounded another nine. He also shot and killed MIT professor and former Lisbon classmate Nuno F.G. Loureiro on December 15 in Brookline, Massachusetts. Why he did it is one of the crucial questions left outstanding. He was a legal permanent resident, a former student of Brown, and knew how to cover his tracks. He changed license plates and had a Google phone, with some reports saying he might have used European SIM cards and other apps, to avoid tracking.
US Attorney Leah Foley said Valente was exceptional at covering his tracks. It was a homeless man, “John,” who cracked the case open. He followed Valente and got his description, along with his rental car's model, make, and tags. He posted this encounter on Reddit.
Valente’s body was found in Salem, New Hampshire, on December 18, though authorities heavily insinuated that he didn’t commit suicide that day. Based on the autopsy, he killed himself on December 16, a day after killing Loureiro. So, yes, the affidavit contains an error: it says Valente contacted the car rental service on December 18.
JUST IN: An autopsy has revealed that Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, the suspected Brown University shooter, died by su*cide from a self-inflicted g*nshot wound two days before authorities discovered his body in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire.
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) December 20, 2025
Brooke Taylor: “The big… pic.twitter.com/oQWFg5E5kP
NH autopsy shows Neves Valente shot himself on Dec. 16.
— Eli Sherman (@Eli_Sherman) December 19, 2025
Time of death conflicts with police affidavit showing Neves Valente called a car rental agency on Dec. 18.
RI spokesperson says affidavit is wrong: "bad information was provided to us." https://t.co/MVFnuW1s1M
It caps off a bizarre and tragic crime, compounded by the incompetence of those investigating the attack. Brown University and Rhode Island officials were a circus for most of this investigation, to the point that some of these pressers should never have happened, as confusion and contradictory messages were pervasive.
