Boston authorities, with details from the U.S. Department of Justice, have revealed that Claudio Neves Valente, the 48-year-old former Brown University student and Portuguese national, orchestrated his deadly attacks after years of preparation. The shootings resulted in the deaths of two Brown students and an MIT professor and left nine others injured in separate incidents in mid-December 2025.
Following the shooting on December 13 at Brown University’s engineering building, Neves Valente was subsequently found deceased at a storage facility in New Hampshire on December 18. Two days after the Brown attacks, he fatally shot MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro at the latter’s residence in the Brookline suburb of Boston.
During a thorough search of the storage site, the FBI recovered an electronic device containing multiple short videos created by Neves Valente after the shootings. In these recordings, he admitted in Portuguese that he had been refining his plan over at least six academic semesters. Notably, he refrained from offering any motive for his actions or explaining why he targeted Brown or Loureiro, with whom he had shared academic history in Portugal decades prior.
The Justice Department shared a translated transcript of the videos in which Neves Valente denied any remorse, stating he had no apologies because he never received sincere apologies himself. He also addressed an injury to his eye sustained during the attack.
He explicitly countered misinformation propagated by conservative influencer Laura Loomer, who falsely asserted that the shooter uttered Arabic phrases during the assault. Neves Valente insisted he did not speak Arabic and that if he vocalized anything upon entering the auditorium, it was likely an expression of disappointment, such as “Oh no!” due to the room appearing empty as students hid beneath desks. He revealed his original intent was to shoot in a conventional classroom rather than an auditorium but admitted he hesitated and missed multiple opportunities that semester.
While he categorized his actions as “a little incompetent,” he also emphasized he was not mentally ill, clarifying the videos were not a manifesto intended for fame. Instead, his goal was to control his circumstances and avoid prolonged suffering. He expressed indifference toward others’ opinions, stating, “No, that cannot happen. So if you don’t like it, tough luck.”
The victims of the Brown University attack included sophomore Ella Cook, 19, and freshman MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, 18. Loureiro, the MIT professor who was killed two days later, graduated from Portugal’s Instituto Superior Técnico’s physics program in 2000. Neves Valente, who had been terminated from a Lisbon university position the same year, and Loureiro had previously attended the same academic program between 1995 and 2000.
Neves Valente disclosed in his video that he rented the storage unit where his body was discovered for approximately three years. Brown University released a statement noting the profound impact of this tragedy on their community and expressed continued mourning, emphasizing prayers for those injured.
Additionally, Neves Valente described an encounter with a witness who helped authorities identify him. The witness had multiple prior encounters with Neves Valente and publicly shared suspicious observations online, prompting others to advise him to contact the FBI. This information led to linking a gray Nissan vehicle to the investigation, which had not previously been associated with the suspect.
Despite the witness confrontation and identification, Neves Valente appeared surprised at the length of time it took authorities to locate him. He also indicated he harbored no strong positive or negative feelings toward the United States, having arrived there approximately 25 years ago to pursue graduate studies in physics at Brown before leaving in 2001.
Neves Valente journeyed to the U.S. on a student visa, later becoming a legal permanent resident in September 2017. His last known residence was in Miami. He remarked on his extended emotional detachment from the U.S., Portugal, and other locations he had lived in, stating, “I've been here without caring for a very long time now.”