“We are 100% confident that this is our target, and this case is closed from a perspective of pursuing people involved.”
This story was originally published in Rhode Island Current, a publication partner of Ocean State Stories.
“We got him.”
With those three words from Ted Docks, FBI special agent in charge, the six-day manhunt for the person believed to be responsible for a mass shooting at Brown University ended. The suspect and former Brown graduate student, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, was found dead in a storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire, shortly before 9 p.m. Thursday, Docks confirmed at a press conference in Providence.
Neves Valente, 48, is also the suspect in Monday’s fatal shooting of Massachusetts Institute of Technology physics professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro in Brookline, Massachusetts, Rhode Island public officials confirmed Thursday. U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah B. Foley said Valente was found with a satchel when investigators arrived to execute a search warrant at a press conference in Boston Thursday night.
It’s a marked turnaround from one day earlier, when clues appeared, at least publicly, scarce about the man captured on grainy video footage and still images around the Ivy League campus before and after the Saturday afternoon shooting. Frustration, criticism, and fear mounted as the university and the capital city desperately searched for answers and investigators searched for justice.
But just as Attorney General Peter Neronha promised, the seemingly unending case “cracked wide open,” swiftly Thursday thanks largely to public assistance that helped connect the man captured on area security camera footage to a rental car agency in Massachusetts, and ultimately, 85 miles north to the storage unit where he took his own life Thursday night.
A state arrest warrant issued by Rhode Island state court earlier Thursday charges Neves Valente with two counts of murder and 23 felony counts of assault and firearms offenses.
Evidence is still being processed, but Neronha added, “There won’t be a prosecution now, of course.”
A motive remains elusive.
“I don’t think we have any idea why now, or why, why Brown, why these students, why this classroom, that that is really unknown to us, and it may become clear, I hope that it does, but it hasn’t as of right now,” Neronha said.
What is known is that Neves Valente was a Brown University student from the fall of 2000 to the spring of 2001, admitted to a master’s graduate program in physics. He took a leave of absence in April 2001, before formally withdrawing in July 2003. During his time at the university, most physics classes were held in the Barus and Holley engineering building where the shooting took place, though the university course schedule for that time period is not available, Christina Paxson, university president said.
He was also described as a Portuguese national, whose last known address was in Miami. He is believed to have traveled by plane to Providence in October, moving throughout the region over the intervening months. Officials said Loureiro, 47, and Valente attended the same academic program in Portugal between 1995 and 2000.
“This was a highly dangerous individual capable of extreme violence,” said Tom Greco, special agent in charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms’ Boston division.
The thread that unraveled the mystery of who and where he was: a second person, identified in the affidavit as John, who was captured on property security camera footage in the East Side residential neighborhood at the same time as Neves Valente on the day of the shooting. Officials on Wednesday released photos of John, asking for tips or for him to come forward for questioning.
John previously posted on a popular reddit forum relaying a piece of what he observed, according to the affidavit of a Providence police detective.
“The police need to look into a grey Nissan with Florida plates, possibly a rental,” John, then still anonymous, wrote on the subreddit r/Providence on Dec. 15. “That was the car he was driving. It was parked in front of the little shack behind the Rhode Island Historical Society on the Cooke St side. I know because he used his key fob to open the car, approached it and then something prompted him to back away.”
John spoke briefly with Neves Valente in the bathroom of the engineering building, following him out and asking him about his presence in the university building. He came forward to Providence police within an hour of his photo being released publicly Wednesday.
“He was as outstanding a witness as I’ve seen, and he deserves a lot of credit,” Neronha said, adding that he would “vote” for the witness to receive the $50,000 reward previously offered by the FBI.
John’s interview and written tips helped investigators identify and trace the vehicle to the Boston car rental where he rented the car, in his own name, Neronha said.
The New Hampshire storage unit was also in his name, and evidence recovered in the car and the unit, including two firearms, confirmed he was responsible for the shooting, Neronha said.
“We are 100% confident that this is our target, and this case is closed from a perspective of pursuing people involved,” Neronha said.
Perez later professed pride for the city, whose residents, students and public safety officials succeeded in the complex and winding investigation.
“In this nation, when horrific incidents happen, law enforcement steps up,” Col. Oscar Perez, Providence police chief, said during the late evening press conference.
The sense of accomplishment and relief was also met with continued grief for the two students killed and nine wounded, along with the wider community. Six of the injured students remained at Rhode Island Hospital, where they were listed in stable condition Thursday.
“We hope this outcome tonight brings an increased sense of safety for Brown and our surrounding area,” Paxson, university president, said. “This has been a period of great fear and anxiety for many people and now, perhaps some form of relief. Truly, this week has been devastating for our community in a number of ways.”
Including public doxxing, misinformation and rampant conspiracies that filled the void of facts on social media over the last six days.
“The endless barrage of misinformation, disinformation, rumors, leaks and click bait were not helpful in this investigation, distractions and unfounded criticisms do not support this work,” said Col. Darnell Weaver, superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police. “They complicate it and threaten to undermine the justice we seek for the victims and the grieving families.”
