SHOOTER FOUND DEAD AFTER BROWN UNIVERSITY MASS SHOOTING

Authorities confirmed that the suspect believed responsible for a deadly mass shooting at Brown University has been found dead, ending a multi-day nationwide manhunt that also linked him to another fatal shooting in Massachusetts, officials said Friday.

The mass shooting occurred about 4:05 p.m. Saturday inside the Barus and Holley Engineering Building, where students were attending a final exam review session. A gunman opened fire in a classroom, killing two Brown University students and injuring nine others before fleeing the scene.

Law enforcement identified the likely shooter as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, a Portuguese national and former Brown University student. A state arrest warrant charged him with two counts of murder and multiple felony firearm offenses in connection with the Brown shooting.

Late Thursday, authorities located Valente in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, where he was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, effectively ending the search.

“Our community can begin to heal as we close the book on this unimaginable tragedy,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said, noting the extensive cooperation among federal, state and local law enforcement.

Investigators also connected Valente to the December 15 shooting death of Nuno F.G. Loureiro, an esteemed Massachusetts Institute of Technology physics professor, at his Brookline, Massachusetts, home — a killing that occurred two days after the Brown attack. Loureiro and Valente are believed to have known each other from earlier academic work in Portugal.

Authorities said Valente had rented a vehicle and maintained several locations in the Northeast in the days surrounding both shootings, and physical evidence including weapons found at the storage unit tied him to the attacks.

At Brown University, two students — 19-year-old sophomore Ella Cook and 18-year-old freshman MukhammadAziz Umurzokov — were killed in the classroom shooting. Nine additional students were wounded; several have since been discharged from hospitals, while others were still recovering.

In response to the shootings, the university canceled remaining final exams and sent students home for the semester. Vigils and memorials were held on campus and in the community to honor the victims.

Officials continue to investigate the motive behind the attacks and have released few details about why the suspect targeted Brown University or Loureiro. Federal authorities have underscored that there is no longer a credible threat to the public related to these events.