A breakthrough in the investigation into the deadly shooting at Brown University came through an anonymous tip linked to a Reddit post, authorities said.
The suspect, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a 48-year-old former Brown graduate student and Portuguese national, was found dead inside a storage unit in Salem. Police said he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and is believed to have acted alone. Investigators have linked him to multiple acts of gun violence, including the killing of two students at Brown and the fatal shooting of a physics professor near Boston.
The five-day investigation gained momentum on December 16 after police received an anonymous tip pointing to a Reddit post that urged authorities to look into a grey Nissan with Florida license plates seen repeatedly around Brown’s campus. Using that information, along with witness accounts and corroborating evidence, investigators traced the vehicle — a rental from a Boston-based agency — back to Neves Valente, according to an affidavit filed by the Providence Police Department.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said the tip “blew this case wide open.” The Reddit user later came forward and told police he had encountered the suspect multiple times before the shooting, including inside a campus building and near the parked vehicle. Surveillance images and additional witness statements helped reinforce the lead.
Police said Neves Valente fled Rhode Island after the Brown shooting and later killed Nuno F. G. Loureiro, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at his home near Boston. Authorities believe the two had attended the same university in Portugal years earlier.
Federal and state investigators, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said rental car records, hotel data, and security footage connected the suspect to both crime scenes. Although the suspect was found dead, officials said the investigation continues as they seek answers about motive and timeline.
