Suspect in Brown University and MIT Shootings Found Dead; Motive Under Investigation

Suspect Identified and Located

• 🎯 Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national and former Brown University student, was found dead in a New Hampshire storage unit.
• 🗓️ Autopsy estimates indicate Valente died on Tuesday, several days after the Brown University shooting and the killing of an MIT professor.

Key Witness and Investigation Breakthrough

• 💡 A civilian, identified only as John, played a crucial role by posting on Reddit about a gray Nissan with Florida plates, which belonged to the shooter.
• 🚗 John had encountered Valente acting suspiciously near the Brown University shooting site, noting the vehicle's details.
• 📍 This information, combined with license plate reader technology from Flock Safety, helped police track the suspect's car to Brookline, near the MIT shooting location.

Suspect's Connections to Victims and Institutions

• 🎓 Valente was a former student at Brown University, having taken courses in the same building where the shooting occurred, though he dropped out in 2001.
• 🔬 Investigators discovered that Valente was in the same engineering program in Lisbon, Portugal, as the MIT professor Nuno Lurierro, who was the victim.
• 🏆 Both Valente and the professor were described as excellent students, leading investigators to consider jealousy or a grudge as potential motives.