Authorities have identified Claudio Manuel Neves Valente as the man responsible for a series of shootings that left three people dead, including two Brown University students and a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Mayor Brett P. Smiley, Attorney General Peter F. Neronha and federal, state and local law enforcement officials announced Thursday that Neves Valente, 48, was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire, following a multistate manhunt.
The violence began Saturday, Dec. 13, when a mass shooting during a finals week review session at Brown University left two students dead and nine others injured. Investigators later linked Neves Valente to the fatal shooting of an MIT professor at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, authorities said.
Earlier Thursday, a Rhode Island state court issued an arrest warrant charging Neves Valente with two counts of murder, 23 felony counts of assault and multiple felony firearms offenses related to the Brown University shooting, based on an affidavit from a Providence Police detective.
Authorities said investigators tracked Neves Valente to the Salem storage unit and obtained a federal search warrant before entering. Tactical teams secured the area for several hours before confirming he had died inside the unit.
Neves Valente was born in Torres Novas, Santarém, Portugal, and was a legal permanent resident of the United States. According to authorities and Brown University officials, he entered the U.S. in August 2000 on an F-1 student visa and studied physics at Brown from the fall of 2000 to the spring of 2001. He later took a leave of absence and ultimately withdrew in 2003. He obtained lawful permanent residency in April 2017.
Investigators said a man with the same name was terminated from a monitoring position at Instituto Superior Técnico in Portugal in 2000, and they believe it is the same individual. Authorities also said the MIT victim attended the same Portuguese institution years earlier.
The investigation remains ongoing as officials continue to review evidence and determine a motive.
View this post on Instagram
Like Newport Buzz? We depend on the generosity of readers like you who support us, to help with our mission to keep you informed and entertained with local, independent news and content. We truly appreciate your trust and support!
