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A man who is suspected of killing two and wounding several others at Brown University has been found dead in a New Hampshire storage facility, Providence, R.I., officials said.
Claudio Neves Valente, 48, a former Brown student and Portuguese national, was found dead Thursday evening from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Col. Oscar Perez, the Providence police chief, said at a news conference.
“I will tell you that he took his own life tonight,” Perez said.
Perez said as far as investigators know, the suspect acted alone.
The police chief thanked all of the agencies that took part in the investigation, saying their combined efforts were necessary to identify the person responsible for the crime.
“There is no way that we could have done this by ourselves,” said Perez.
“In this nation, when horrific incidents like this happen, law enforcement steps up.”
Enrolled at Brown in fall of 2000
Brown University President Christina Paxson said Valente was enrolled at Brown from the fall of 2000 to the spring of 2001. He was admitted to the graduate school to study physics beginning in September 2000.
“He has no current affiliation with the university,” she said.
Two people were killed and nine were wounded in the mass shooting Saturday at Brown’s engineering building.
The investigation had shifted Thursday when authorities said they were looking into a connection between the Brown mass shooting and an attack two days later near Boston that killed MIT professor Nuno Loureiro.
But authorities have not formally confirmed a connection between the two shootings.
Frustration over suspect’s escape
A second individual who was identified in proximity to the suspect came forward after Wednesday’s press conference and helped “blow the lid” off the case, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said.
“When you crack it, you crack it. That person led us to the car, led us to the name,” Neronha said.
Frustration had mounted in Providence that the person behind the attack managed to get away and that a clear image of their face hadn’t emerged.
