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The person of interest was found dead in Salem, New Hampshire
Katie Hawkinson in Washington, D.C. & Rachel DobkinFriday 19 December 2025 02:56 GMT- Bookmark
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A person of interest in the shooting at Brown University last weekend has been found dead in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire after a five-day manhunt.
“I will tell you that he took his own life tonight,” Colonel Oscar Perez, the chief of the Providence Police Department said Thursday night.
Perez identified the person of interest as Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Brown student and Portuguese national.
Authorities in Providence, Rhode Island, shared details about how they located the person of interest using video footage.
open image in galleryA person of interest in the shooting at Brown University last weekend has been found dead in a storage facility in New Hampshire after a five-day manhunt (AP/Reba Saldanha)They said a video provided them with a description of a vehicle that led them to a car rental place in Massachusetts. Law enforcement were then able get a copy of an agreement, which included the person of interest’s name.
Police were reportedly investigating a potential link between the shooting of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and the Brown University shooting.
Two students were killed and nine were injured Saturday in a shooting on Brown University’s campus. Two days later, 47-year-old MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro was fatally shot at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts. Brookline is about 50 miles northeast of Providence.
A law enforcement official close to the investigation told CNN that police are looking into a potential connection between the two shootings, based on information received in the last 24 hours. The source stressed the link is not definitive, according to the outlet.
The Independent has asked the Providence Police Department for comment. The Brookline Police Department directed questions to the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office, where a spokesperson declined to comment, citing the “active and ongoing” investigation.
Loureiro was shot “multiple times” in his home Monday night, and died Tuesday after first responders rushed him to the hospital, investigators said. Police have said they’re investigating his death as a homicide.
Meanwhile, law enforcement have identified a person of interest in the Brown University campus shooting, CBS News reported Thursday. Authorities have signed a warrant for the individual’s arrest and are now trying to find them.
Police initially said they had detained a person of interest just hours after the shooting. However, he was released Sunday night after a law enforcement official said that “the evidence now points in a different direction.”
As the search continues, community members are mourning the two students killed on the Ivy League campus: Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov.
open image in galleryPolice were reportedly investigating a potential link between the shooting of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and the Brown University shooting (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)Cook, a 19-year-old from Alabama, was the vice president of the Brown University College Republicans. She was also a parishioner at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham.
Reverend Craig Smalley described Cook as an “incredible, grounded, faithful bright light,” according to AL.com. The College Republicans of America said Cook was known for her “bold, brave and kind heart as she served her chapter and fellow classmates.”
Umurzokov, an 18-year-old from Uzbekistan, was studying to become a neurosurgeon, according to a GoFundMe campaign launched by his family. He was described as “incredibly kind, funny and smart,” and his family’s “biggest role model.”
“He always lent a helping hand to anyone in need without hesitation, and was the most kind-hearted person our family knew,” the GoFundMe reads. “Our family is incredibly devastated by this loss.”
open image in galleryPhotos of Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook sit next to bouquets of flowers at a memorial on Brown University’s campus (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)