Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old former Brown University student, has been identified by authorities as the suspect in the on-campus mass shooting that killed two students, including Ella Cook, and injured eight others. Valente, a Portuguese national whose last known address was in Miami, was found dead Thursday night in a New Hampshire storage facility from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Providence, Rhode Island, police chief Col. Oscar Perez.
Ella Cook, a college sophomore from Alabama, and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an Uzbek national, were the two students killed in the auditorium shooting. An affidavit stated Cook was found between aisles J and H, while Umurzokov was located near the upper entry door. Authorities also linked Valente to the killing of an MIT professor two days after the Brown shooting. Valente had briefly attended Brown as a PhD student in physics from 2000 to 2001 and had no further affiliation with the university.
Witnesses reported hearing multiple gunshots coming from the rear and top of the auditorium, with the shooter described as walking down the aisles while firing. Police recovered 44 spent 9-millimeter shell casings from the scene. The investigation, described as "good, old-fashioned police work," led to Valente's identification through surveillance footage of a grey Nissan sedan with Florida plates, corroborated by an anonymous tip referencing a Reddit post. A second witness, who identified himself as the Reddit poster, came forward and reported encountering Valente shortly before the shooting, noting his suspicious demeanor and clothing. This witness's information was crucial in locating the vehicle and subsequently identifying Valente through rental car paperwork.
Investigators believe Valente may have been in school in Portugal with the slain MIT professor, Nuno Loureiro. The motive for the shootings remains unknown, with Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Franz Neronha stating investigators do not know what Valente yelled before opening fire. While the case against Valente cannot proceed due to his death, authorities hope this outcome offers some closure to the victims and their families. Some political figures have suggested Ella Cook, who was vice president of Brown's College Republicans, may have been targeted for her conservative beliefs.