(providencejournal.com)
1:01 am ET December 19, 2025
Was the Brown University shooter planning more attacks?
Antonia Noori Farzan
Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez said that as far as police know, Neves Valente was not planning any future attacks, beyond his killing of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro.
12:59 am ET December 19, 2025
Where did the Brown University shooter live when he attended Brown?
Antonia Noori Farzan
According to the arrest affidavit for Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, he lived at 122 Governor Street when he attended Brown and lived in Providence.
The attorney general said that Neves Valente was enrolled in a doctoral program at Brown but subsequently withdrew from the university. Brown University President Christina Paxson said that he was enrolled from fall 2000 to spring 2001 and took a leave of absence in April 2001, and formally left the university in July 2003. He has no active affiliation with Brown.
12:26 am ET December 19, 2025
Massachusetts authorities lay out case against Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente
Katie Mulvaney
Federal authorities in Massachusetts released the affidavit supporting the arrest of Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente in the murder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor 48-year-old Nuno Gomes Loureiro after a press conference announcing Neves-Valente’s death by apparent suicide.
Prosecutors had planned to charge the Portuguese national with transporting a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony with the firearm, in this case, Loureiro‘s death.
Authorities said that Neves-Valente rented a hotel room in Boston from Nov. 26 30 and then rented a gray Nissan Sentra with Florida plates that he drove to Providence to commit a mass shooting at Brown University. Witnesses reported that the assailant carried a pistol with a green laser sight.
They tracked Neves-Valente via Google email and voice accounts in the vicinity of Boston University Dec. 14, the day after the Brown attack. He had provided the address to the hotel in Boston at check-in.
The day after the shooting of the professor – with whom he had attended the same academic program with in Portugal from 1995 to 2000 – Neves-Valente was tracked in the vicinity of Loureiro‘s home in Brookline, Massachusetts at the time that the professor was shot to death, authorities said.
12:19 am ET December 19, 2025
Federal officials to pause diversity visa lottery program after shootings
Thao Nguyen
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has been directed to pause its diversity visa lottery program (DV1) after the shooting suspect was found to have entered the country through program, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Neves-Valente had entered the U.S. through the program in 2017 and was granted a green card, Noem said in a post on X late Thursday.
“This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” she wrote. “At President Trump’s direction, I am immediately directing USCIS to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.”
Under the program, up to 55,000 immigrants can enter the country each year from “countries with low rates of immigration to the United States,” according to the State Department’s website.
12:04 am ET December 19, 2025
Footage showed Brown University shooter in building as early as Dec. 1.
Antonia Noori Farzan
A custodian at Brown had noticed Claudio Manuel Neves Valente and found him suspicious before the shooting, the Rhode Island Attorney General’s affidavit says.
The custodian recalled seeing a suspicious person with a surgical mask, wearing the same clothing shown in released images of the suspect, and walking with a limp twice, on Nov. 28 and Dec. 1.
According to the affidavit, the custodian said that the suspicious person had entered the Barnes & Holley building on the Hope Street side on one occasion and immediately entered a ground-level bathroom across from Room 166.
Surveillance footage from Brown’s cameras showed an individual matching that description on Dec. 1, according to the affidavit.
A Brown faculty member also reached out to the Rhode Island State Police and described an encounter before the shooting. She said that she was driving east on Waterman Street on the morning of Thursday, Dec. 11 and ended up behind a grey sedan with a Florida license plate that was driving unusually slowly in the direction of Thayer Street. The faculty member recalled that the sedan “was moving so slowly that it almost came to a complete stop,” the affidavit says.
That observation helped lead to a license plate number, which the affidavit says was caught 14 different times on Flock license plate reading cameras, the first of which was on Dec. 1.
11:52 pm ET December 18, 2025
How a Reddit post helped crack the Brown University shooting
Patrick Anderson
The trail of the Brown University killer had gown cold on Tuesday, Dec. 16 when a post on the social media platform Reddit was forwarded to the Providence Police tip line that would eventually break the case open.
The post, identified by police as John, described a gray Nissan with Florida plates parked by the Rhode Island Historical Society and a man who the poster said acted strangely locking and unlocking the car. John told police he had first encountered the masked man in a bathroom in the Barus & Holley Building at 1:45 p.m. the day of the shooting, according to an affidavit from Providence police.
John told officers he followed the masked man and they "played a game of cat and mouse" as the suspect circled the neighborhood.
"Your car is back there, why are you circling the block?" John asked the man.
"I don't know you from nobody. Why are you harassing me?" he replied, the affidavit said.
John's description of the car and interaction with a masked man wandering around College Hill before the shooting would give police a lead they chased all the way to a Salem, New Hampshire storage facility, where a man police believe was the masked shooter was found dead.
"Holy [expletive]. That might be it," John told detectives when shown surveillance of the Nissan from a Boston car rental agency, according to an affidavit.
He told detectives the clothing and appearance of the man renting the Nissan in footage from the rental agency matched that of the man he had seen walking in and around Brown.
11:49 pm ET December 18, 2025
What ballistics were investigators able to find from Barus & Holley building?
Antonia Noori Farzan
The Rhode Island Attorney General's affidavit states that investigators recovered 44 spent 9-millimeter shell casings and other ballistics evidence from the Barus & Holley building.
Fifteen casings were found in the hallway and 29 were found in the auditorium.
Additionally, two high-capacity magazines with a 30 round capacity were found in the auditorium.
Rhode Island banned high-capacity magazines in 2022.
11:35 pm ET December 18, 2025
Norfolk District Attorney issues statement on Loureiro's murder investigation
Caitlyn Kelleher
The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts issued a statement about 11:15 p.m. Thursday after press conferences in Boston and Providence. The Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the DA’s office have been investigation into the killing of MIT professor Nuno F. G. Loureiro.
“While our case remains active and ongoing, we await more information and evidence from our federal partners,” reads the statement. “That information will be shared over the course of the days and weeks ahead. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Loureiro family and friends during this incredibly difficult time.”
They have been in communication with the Massachusetts United States Attorney’s Office. The statement adds they have been working with “law enforcement partner agencies over the past several days and have been sharing critical information gathered in our active and ongoing investigation into the killing of Nuno F. G. Loureiro of Brookline.”
11:28 pm ET December 18, 2025
What about the Brown University school shooter's satchel?
Margie Cullen
Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, the perpetrator of the Brown University mass shooting, was found dead in a storage facility in New Hampshire Dec. 18 with a satchel that he had been seen wearing in photos released by police earlier this week, law enforcement officials said.
Attorney General Peter Neronha said that Neves Valente was found with “a satchel" and two firearms on his body, plus evidence in the car "that matches exactly what we see at the scene here in Providence.”
At a later press conference, United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah B. Foley would not elaborate on what was in the satchel, when asked by reporters.
A “satchel” is a small bag often carried on the shoulder by a long strap. In photos released by police of the suspect casing out the area before the shooting, the “satchel” he was wearing looked like a black cross body bag.
11:15 pm ET December 18, 2025
How Claudio Manuel Neves Valente hid his movements
Antonia Noori Farzan
United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah B. Foley said that Claudio Manuel Neves Valente returned to New England in November, but it's unclear what he was doing since he left Brown, since his identity was only determined in the last 24 hours. There is no indication that he knew any of the students in the Brown lecture hall where he opened fire.
Investigators are still trying to determine what was in the satchel, Foley said.
Foley said that investigators believe that Neves Valente was using a Google phone with an application that officers couldn’t ping in real time, and possibly using European SIM cards that are carried through a cell phone provider in the United States that does not provide real-time information.
It’s unclear where he got the unregistered Maine license plate, which has not been active for over a decade, Foley said.
As far as investigators know, Neves Valente did not have any criminal record in the United States, Foley said.
11:08 pm ET December 18, 2025
NH governor praises law enforcement response
Ian Lenahan
New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte praised local, state and federal law enforcement that partnered with Rhode Island authorities to locate and identify the body of Claudio Manuel Neves Valente.A spokesperson shared a statement from New Hampshire’s first-term governor, formerly the state’s attorney general and a previous U.S. senator, late Thursday as officials in Rhode Island briefed reporters on the end of the manhunt. “Tonight, the suspect from the Brown University shooting was found dead in Salem. I am thankful for the work of federal law enforcement, the New Hampshire State Police, local agencies and law enforcement partners in Rhode Island,” Ayotte said. “Joe and I continue to pray for the victims of the shooting and their families.”
11:01 pm ET December 18, 2025
GoFundMe started for Redditor who encountered Brown shooter
A GoFundMe has been started collecting donations for the Redditor, identified only as "John" who encountered Brown University mass shooter Claudio Manuel Neves Valente.
"I'm raising money to reward a true RI hero, a Redditor who was the one who provided the tip that ultimately led to finding the Brown University shooter," wrote Chris Horvath, who is organizing the fundraiser.
The arrest affidavit filed against Neves Valente cited a post on the Providence Reddit forum from a user who described seeing a grey Nissan with Florida plates parked near the Rhode Island Historical Society.
Police interviewed the author of the post, identified only as “John,” who said he first encountered the suspect inside a bathroom in the ground floor of the Barus & Holley building at approximately 1:45 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 13.
John locked eyes with the suspect and later observed the suspect leaving the building. John remained at the entrance until he observed the suspect go up Manning Street and then followed him. He watched the suspect approach a grey or silver sedan bearing a Florida registration plate near the Rhode Island Historical Society on Cooke Street.
When John approached, he saw two fanny pack style bags on the rear floorboard on the passenger side. He confirmed that Flock camera images of the suspect’s vehicle appeared to match the car he saw.
10:58 pm ET December 18, 2025
Brown University shooter also killed MIT professor
Antonia Noori Farzan
United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah B. Foley confirmed that Claudio Manuel Neves Valente is also believed to be responsible for the murder of an MIT professor Nuno Loureiro in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Although he was a resident of Florida, Neves Valente was residing in a hotel in Boston, where he rented the grey Nissan Sentra with Florida plates, Foley said at press conference at the Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston.
The car was observed in Providence intermittently between Dec. 1 and 12, Foley said. After the shooting at Brown, it returned to Massachusetts. Neves Valente switched the rental car’s plate to an unregistered plate out of Maine on the Dec. 15 and drove to Salem, where he had rented a storage unit this November.
Foley said that U.S. Attorneys in Massachusetts, Boston, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire worked through the day to establish probable cause to file charges against Neves Valente. Those charges were filed under seal in Massachusetts earlier on Thursday.
Foley said that Neves Valente returned to New England in November, but it's unclear what he was doing since he left Brown, since his identity was only determined in the last 24 hours. There is no indication that he knew any of the students in the Brown lecture hall where he opened fire.
10:52 pm ET December 18, 2025
Brown University shooter switched license plates
Catherine Messier
One of the reasons the Brown shooter was “so hard to find” was his use of multiple license plates, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha explained in a press conference Thursday night.
“He was changing plates. He knew what he was doing, so we have a Maine plate and Florida plate,” said Nehrona.
Law enforcement eventually found the shooter, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, by tracking his car following a description of the vehicle found in video footage. The vehicle was originally rented from a car rental place in Massachusetts.
10:47 pm ET December 18, 2025
RI Congressional delegation reacts to end of Brown University shooting suspect investgation
Will Richmond
Rhode Island's Congressional delegation is reacting to the news that a suspect in the Brown University mass shooting has been identified and is dead, offering their appreciation for investigators and raising the hope for healing moving forward.
“The Brown shooting was a horrific tragedy. Even though the suspected gunman is dead, this continues to be a complex case with many remaining questions," Sen. Jack Reed said. "More answers will come as the investigation continues, and more facts are uncovered. But tonight, I hope Rhode Islanders can breathe a little easier."
Reed also recognized the two Brown students who were killed in the shooting.
“Two amazing young people – Brown students Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook – were tragically taken from us. Their lives were cut short, several others were wounded by the gunman, and many more in the Brown community and our state have invisible scars from this tragedy. We are here for all of them. We’re rallying to uplift them and support their family and loved ones.
“Tonight’s outcome is a step toward healing, but the investigation continues and the road ahead is difficult. We remain focused on public safety. All of us are challenged to think about what we can do as individuals and collectively to ensure other communities don’t feel the same sense of loss and heartbreak that we’re feeling.”
U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner offered his gratitude to law enforcement involved in the investigation.
“I want to express gratitude to all of the members of law enforcement who worked tirelessly to locate the now-deceased suspect in the Brown University shooting.
10:43 pm ET December 18, 2025
'We had to run that lead to the ground'
Margie Cullen
Law enforcement officials said that they didn’t stop working on other leads when they were looking into the person of interest who was detained early in the investigation. That person was originally cleared.
In response to a question about whether the Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno Loureiro, who was shot to death in his Brookline home two days after the Brown shooting, could still be alive if they didn’t focus on the wrong person of interest at first, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said that he didn’t believe they would have found the suspect any sooner given the evidence that was available to them.
“We had to run that lead to the ground,” he said.
Neronha and Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez said that while they were working on that lead, they continued investigating other areas. Neronha said they had at least four different leads that didn’t work out.
10:37 pm ET December 18, 2025
See photos of Brown University shooter Claudio Manuel Neves Valente
Will Richmond
As part of an arrest affidavit filed against Brown University shooter Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, new images have been released, including photos that show his face, and the jacket he was seen wearing in surveillance video.
See them below:
10:31 pm ET December 18, 2025
Paxson addresses unlocked building, lack of cameras
Margie Cullen
Brown University Christina Paxson said that they don’t know how or when Claudio Manuel Neves Valente entered the Barus & Holley building, but that the building was unlocked that day for exams.
She said she doesn’t think that a lack of cameras in the building had “anything to do with what happened there.”
Instead, she said that video from the neighborhoods was instrumental in cracking the case.
Paxson said she has not heard concerns about people getting into the building in the past.
10:29 pm ET December 18, 2025
Paxson lashes out against 'doxxing' of student
Catherine Messier
Brown University President Christina Paxson says she hopes the resolution of the manhunt for the gunman who killed two students and injured nine others at Brown University will end the "doxxing" of students.
“Truly this week has been devastating for our community in a number of ways. Including the experiences members of our community have had with being targeted by online rumors and accusations. I hope this development also means an end to this truly troubling activity,” Paxson said at a press conference on Thursday night.
Earlier this week, Paxson addressed the doxxing of a Brown University student who faced accusations of being the shooter online.
“Accusations, speculation and conspiracies we’re seeing on social media and in some news reports are irresponsible, harmful, and in some cases dangerous for the safety of individuals in our community,” reads a Dec. 16 statement from Brown University.
Rhode Island State Police Superintendent Col. Darnell Weaver echoed those sentiments during a Dec. 18 press conference, taking aim also at online conspiracy theories circulating on social media.
"Criminal investigations are grounded in evidence, not speculation or online commentary," Weaver said. "The endless barrage of misinformation, disinformation, rumors, leaks and clickbait were not helpful in this investigation.”
10:27 pm ET December 18, 2025
Post on Providence Reddit forum cited in Brown University shooting affidavit
Antonia Noori Farzan
The affidavit cites a post on the Providence Reddit forum from a user who described seeing a grey Nissan with Florida plates parked near the Rhode Island Historical Society.
Police interviewed the author of the post, identified only as “John,” who said he first encountered the suspect inside a bathroom in the ground floor of the Barus & Holley building at approximately 1:45 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 13.
John locked eyes with the suspect and later observed the suspect leaving the building. John remained at the entrance until he observed the suspect go up Manning Street and then followed him. He watched the suspect approach a grey or silver sedan bearing a Florida registration plate near the Rhode Island Historical Society on Cooke Street.
When John approached, he saw two fanny pack style bags on the rear floorboard on the passenger side. He confirmed that Flock camera images of the suspect’s vehicle appeared to match the car he saw.
10:22 pm ET December 18, 2025
'Citizen' had an encounter with Brown University shooter in Barus & Holley
Margie Cullen
According to Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, the “citizen” had a conversation with Claudio Manuel Neves Valente in the bathroom of Barus & Holley.
The citizen then followed him out of the bathroom because “this guy did not belong there,” Neronha relayed.
The citizen eventually walked away after Neves Valente asked him why he was harassing him, Providence Police Col. Oscar Perez said.
10:17 pm ET December 18, 2025
Suspect spent 'great deal of time' in Barus & Holley building
Margie Cullen
Brown University President Christina Paxson said that the suspect in the Brown University mass shooting, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, spent a “great deal of time” at the Barus & Holley building, where the mass shooting took place.
Valente was enrolled only in physics classes when he was at Brown, and Paxson said that the majority of physics classes at Brown have always been held within the Barus & Holley building.
Paxson thanked law enforcement and said she hopes that this resolution can bring some form of relief.
“Nothing can really fully bring closure to the lives that have been shattered over the past week, but this may allow our community to move forward and begin a path of repair and recovery and healing,” Paxson said.
Paxson also said that she hopes the development leads to the end of members of the Brown community “being targeted by online rumors and accusations.”
10:11 pm ET December 18, 2025
Read the arrest affidavit filed against Brown University shooter
Eryn Dion
According to a press release from the office of Attorney General Peter F. Neronha, a Rhode Island state court issued an arrest warrant for Claudio Neves Valente on Dec. 18 charging him with two counts of murder and 23 felony counts of assault and felony firearms offenses.
The warrant was based on an affidavit from a Providence police detective, Neronha’s office said.
You can read it below:
10:08 pm ET December 18, 2025
Brown University shooter took only physics classes, withdrew from school
Antonia Noori Farzan
Neves Valente born in Torres Novas, Santarem, Portugal and was a legal permanent resident of the United States, Neronha’s press release said. He arrived in the United States in August 2000 as an F-1 student at Brown University and subsequently obtained U.S. lawful permanent residency in April 2017.
The attorney general said that Neves Valente was enrolled in a doctoral program at Brown but subsequently withdrew from the university. Brown University President Christina Paxson said that he was enrolled from fall 2000 to spring 2001 and took a leave of absence in April 2001, and formally left the university in July 2003. He has no active affiliation with Brown.
According to a press release from the office of Attorney General Peter F. Neronha, a Rhode Island state court issued an arrest warrant for Claudio Neves Valente on Dec. 18 charging him with two counts of murder and 23 felony counts of assault and felony firearms offenses.
The warrant was based on an affidavit from a Providence police detective, Neronha’s office said.
Law enforcement tracked Neves Valente to a Salem, New Hampshire storage unit, according to the press release. After obtaining a federal search warrant for the unit, authorities entered and found Neves Valente deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
"As far as we know ... he acted alone,” Perez said. As far as police know, antisemitism did not play a role.
Police do not know how long Neves Valente was dead before he was found in the storage unit, or what brought him up to New England.
10:00 pm ET December 18, 2025
'We got him'
Antonia Noori Farzan
“We got him,” said FBI special agent in charge Ted Docks during a press conference on Dec. 18.
“Even thought the suspect was found dead tonight, our work is not done,” Docks added. He acknowledged that there are still many questions that need to be answered, including the motive for the “senseless act of violence,” and lots of evidence that needs to be processed.
“This case stands out as one of the most challenging in our state’s history,” said Col. Darnell Weaver, the superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police, pointing to the “sheer volume” of digital evidence and “intense public interest.”
Weaver also sharply criticized online conspiracy theories and speculation about the crime, saying that the “endless barrage” of rumors were unhelpful distractions.
9:56 pm ET December 18, 2025
How the ATF aided the Brown University mass shooting investigation
Margie Cullen
Tom Greco, the Special Agent in Charge of ATF Boston, said that they supported the investigation through canine handlers and crime gun intelligence technology.
ATF is the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. They were seen on the ground in Salem, NH, in livestreams, and were one of many federal agencies involved in the investigation.
Greco said they used NIBIN, the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network “to compare ballistic evidence.”
9:54 pm ET December 18, 2025
Smiley, law enforcement officials credit neighborhood tips with helping to identify suspect
Margie Cullen
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said at a press conference on Thursday night that they were able to identify the suspect in part “because of the information provided to us by neighbors.”
“We've leaned on one another, come together and supported one another and showed the nation what a tight knit community looks like,” Smiley said.
He also credited the work of the Providence Police Department, the Rhode Island State Police, the FBI, the ATF and many other federal parters, as well as the guidance they received from the Attorney General’s Office.
“We all worked well together to be able to identify this suspect,” Smiley said.
Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez confirmed that critical evidence was collected “with the use of public assistance.”
9:52 pm ET December 18, 2025
Brown University mass shooting suspect "took his own life"
Margie Cullen
Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez said that the suspect in the Brown University mass shooting, Claudio Neves Valenti, took his own life at a press conference in the night of Dec. 18.
Attorney General Peter Neronha said that he was found dead with “a satchel with two firearms and evidence in the car that matches exactly what we see at the scene here in Providence.”
Neronha said that they got an interstate arrest warrant for murder for the individual on Dec. 18.
“There won’t be a prosecution now, of course,” he said.
9:46 pm ET December 18, 2025
Brown University shooter ID'd as Brown student, Portuguese national
Antonia Noori Farzan
The shooter was a 48-year-old Portuguese national, Claudio Neves Valente, a Brown student with a last known address of Miami, Florida, said Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez. After the shooting, he died by suicide and was found in New Hampshire.
Perez said that solving the investigation “was all about groundwork, public assistance, interviews of individuals and good old fashioned policing.”
“We looked at financial records, we looked at video footage, and in this specific instance it was actually video that provided us with a description of a vehicle that was corroborated with a tip that was provided to the tip center,” Perez said.
Flock cameras picked up a vehicle that matched that description, “which led us to a car rental place in Massachusetts,” Perez said. That allowed investigators to get a copy of the rental agreement, which had the suspect’s real name, and a video that matched the person of interest.
9:38 pm ET December 18, 2025
Livestream: Officials give update on Brown University shooting
Whitman Littlefield
Providence Mayor Smiley is expected to give an update on the Brown University shooting investigation, originally scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday, December 18.
He is expected to be joined by the Providence police, other law enforcement officials and politcal official
Law enforcement is pursuing a new person of interest in the Brown University mass shooting, according to multiple media reports.
CBS News, the Washington Post and the Associated Press, citing unnamed sources, reported that a person of interest has been identified by New England law enforcement and is being sought. That person's name has not yet been released.
The development comes after law enforcement sources confirmed to The Providence Journal that they were exploring a possible connection with the shooting of Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno Loureiro, who was shot to death in his Brookline home two days after the Brown shooting.
9:16 pm ET December 18, 2025
Reports: Brown University gunman dead
Mark Reynolds
An unnamed source as well as other media have reported that the man wanted in connection to the Brown shooting has been found dead.
The development comes after multiple law enforcement agencies have swarmed a self storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire.
More to come.
8:59 pm ET December 18, 2025
Extra Space Storage confirms their facility being searched
Antonia Noori Farzan
As multiple law enforcement agencies swarm the building on 10 Hampshire Rd. in Salem, New Hampshire, Extra Space Storage put out a statement saying they are working with the authorities.
"We are working with the authorities and supporting their investigation on our property," the company said in a statement.
8:32 pm ET December 18, 2025
See more police arrive at Salem, NH location
Whitman Littlefield
Police are continuing to arrive and stage at a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire this evening.
See officers arriving below:
8:24 pm ET December 18, 2025
Watch: Police command vehicle arrives on scene in Salem, NH
Eryn Dion
A large police mobile command vehicle from Derry, New Hampshire has arrived on scene at 10 Hampshire Rd. in Salem, New Hampshire.
In addition to the Providence Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Marshall Service are present at the location.
Multiple federal agencies have been working with state and local police over the last six days to find a suspect in the Dec. 13 mass shooting at Brown University
8:17 pm ET December 18, 2025
See law enforcement swarm storage facility in Salem, NH
Whitman Littlefield
Law enforcement, including FBI, ATF, the U.S. Marshalls, have swarmed a self-storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire.
While it is not confirmed that this is related to the ongoing manhunt for the Brown University mass shooting suspect, Providence Police are on scene. Law enforcement sources confirmed to The Journal that a person of interest had been identified in the shooting.
See the scene below:
8:10 pm ET December 18, 2025
Police activity in Salem, NH as law enforcement appears to look for person of interest
Margie Cullen
As of around 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 18, there appeared to be a heavy police presence near 10 Hampshire Rd in Salem, NH, including officers wearing Providence Police vests. It’s the location of what appears to be a ExtraSpace Storage facility.
Live helicopter feeds show armed law enforcement looking into a building. The area is cordoned off as police officers and cars swarm.
The scene comes after multiple media outlets had reported earlier in the day that law enforcement was pursuing a new person of interest.
8:08 pm ET December 18, 2025
Methuen, MA and Salem, NH police advise residents of law enforcement activity nearby
Antonia Noori Farzan
Police in Methuen, Massachusetts and Salem, New Hampshire issued a statement Thursday night saying that federal, state, and local authorities "are currently mobilizing resources" near the border between the two municipalities.
"This activity is connected to an ongoing effort to locate a suspect in an active investigation into a recent death," the statement said.
Police said there is no immediate threat to Methuen or Salem residents or members of the public.
Police also advised residents that if they saw anyone suspicious, out of place or who looked unfamiliar with the area, they should report the sighting to their respective police department's non emergency line.
8:03 pm ET December 18, 2025
FBI and ATF in New Hampshire in what appears to be hunt for Brown University shooter
Margie Cullen
In addition to the Providence Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Marshall Service are present at the facility in Salem, New Hampshire, according to live feeds of the area.
Multiple federal agencies have been working with state and local police over the last six days to find a suspect in the Dec. 13 mass shooting at Brown University.
7:42 pm ET December 18, 2025
Providence Police in Salem, NH as hunt for Brown University shooter intensifies
Margie Cullen
Multiple Providence Police officers are present in Salem, New Hampshire, just hours after multiple media outlets had reported that law enforcement was pursuing a new person of interest, live feeds showed.
They were part of a heavy police presence at near 10 Hampshire Rd, the location of what appears to be a storage facility.
7:29 pm ET December 18, 2025
Heavy police presence in Salem, NH
Margie Cullen
Live video feeds from news helicopters above Salem, New Hampshire show a large police presence in the vicinity of 10 Hampshire Road, which is an ExtraSpace Storage facility.
Police were seen on video with guns drawn, looking into a building, though other law enforcement appeared more relaxed.
The area was cordoned off, and police seen on the video feed were beginning to close the surrounding roads.
It is unconfirmed at this time if this activity is related to the Brown University mass shooting on Dec. 13, or the murder of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro. However, police with Providence jackets and vests were seen on scene.
Updates had been developing throughout the day, including that law enforcement had identified a person of interest and that investigators were also looking into a link between the Brown shooting and the murder of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor.
7:25 pm ET December 18, 2025
Increased police presence seen in southern New Hampshire
Bailey Allen
An increased police presence has been reported in southern New Hampshire, as police pursue a new person of interest in the mass shooting at Brown University in Providence.
Helicopters were seen circling near the Mall at Rockingham Park and Tuscan Village in Salem, N.H., at around 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 18.
It was not immediately clear if the increased police presence in New Hampshire was connected with the mass shooting at the Ivy League campus in Rhode Island.
Earlier Thursday afternoon, law enforcement sources confirmed to The Providence Journal that they were exploring a possible link between the Brown University shooting and the killing of Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno Loureiro, who was shot to death in his Brookline, Mass., home this week.
Distance from Brown University to Salem, NH
Salem, New Hampshire, is about 83 miles from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where two people were killed and nine others were injured on Dec. 13.
Distance from Brookline, MA to Salem, NH
Salem, New Hampshire, is about 35 miles from Brookline, Massachusetts, where Loureiro was fatally shot on Dec. 15.
6:20 pm ET December 18, 2025
Police expected to hold press conference with new information
Eryn Dion
A pre-planning routine press conference at 4 p.m. on Dec. 18 was canceled in the early afternoon, but another update is expected today.
Providence officials and law enforcement had been holding daily press conferences at 5 p.m., then 4 p.m. to share new updates, images, videos and messages related to the mass shooting at Brown University and subsequent manhunt.
5:52 pm ET December 18, 2025
Law enforcement spoke to person seen 'in proximity' to Brown shooting person of interest
Patrick Anderson
Police located and spoke to the person seen "in proximity" to the person of interest in the Brown University mass shooting, law enforcement sources confirmed to The Providence Journal.
That person's photo was released on Dec. 17, along with a notice that investigators were asking for the public's help to identify them.
Police did not disclose what was discussed.
4:35 pm ET December 18, 2025
Person of interest identified in Brown shooting, reports
Law enforcement is pursuing a person of interest in the Brown University mass shooting, according to multiple media reports.
CBS News, the Washington Post and the Associated Press, citing unnamed sources, reported that a person of interest has been identified by New England law enforcement and is being sought.
The development comes after law enforcement sources confirmed to The Providence Journal that they were exploring a possible connection with the shooting of Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno Loureiro, who was shot to death in his Brookline home two days after the Brown shooting.
3:39 pm ET December 18, 2025
How far is MIT from Brown University?
Margie Cullen
Brown University is located in Providence, Rhode Island.
MIT is in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but the shooting took place in Brookline, Massachusetts.
The two schools are about 50 miles and an hour apart. Brookline is very slightly closer to Brown.
3:10 pm ET December 18, 2025
All surviving victims of shooting in stable condition or discharged from hospital
Jonny Williams
As of 2:45 pm on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, Rhode Island Hospital confirmed that of the nine patients who suffered gunshot wounds at the shooting at Brown University on Saturday, Dec. 13, six are in stable condition and three have been discharged.
2:39 pm ET December 18, 2025
Investigators exploring link between Brown University shooting, killing of MIT professor
Katie Mulvaney
Investigators are looking at whether the mass shooting at Brown University Dec. 13 is linked to the murder of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor two days later, law enforcement sources confirmed.
The investigation took a turn as authorities began to probe if the professor’s shooting death Dec. 15 was connected to the attack at Brown that left two students dead and nine injured, authorities said.
The FBI had indicated there was no link days ago at a press conference earlier this week, but authorities have acknowledged they are working with law enforcement in other states. The next press briefing is set for 4 p.m.
2:26 pm ET December 18, 2025
Brown University campus quiet after shooting
Wheeler Cowperthwaite
On campus, the only steady presence wasn’t students faculty or even police officers, but instead a few private security officers wearing neon yellow vests.
Well, the grass was green and the snow was gone on.
At the corner of Waterman and Thayer, one of the staging areas for police and medics just a few days earlier, a man with literature and a boombox blasting Christian rock music stood at the corner, trying to talk to passersby.
At the various memorial sites on the campus, people were placing bouquets of flowers, a teddy bear, and taking a few moments of silence.
Brown’s main green normally bustling pedestrian thoroughfare, was nearly empty. Adirondack chairs, and the remnants of snowman‘s torso’s, outnumbered the students walking through.
1:23 pm ET December 18, 2025
Increased police presence expected in Providence for events
Bill Corey
Downtown Providence is preparing for a busy weekend, with Providence College basketball, a weekend volleyball tournament, as well as holiday shows at the Providence Performing Arts Center, Veterans Memorial Auditorium and Trinity Rep.
With the hunt still on for the person responsible for the fatal shooting of two Brown University students on campus Saturday, there will be an increased police presence downtown.
Larry Lepore, general manager of the Rhode Island Convention Center and Amica Mutual Pavilion, tells The Providence Journal "there will be additional uniform police officers at the [Amica Mutual Pavilion]" for the Friars' Big East home opener against Seton Hall at 6:30 p.m.
The nearby Rhode Island Convention Center will also see an increased police presence for a youth volleyball tournament scheduled for Dec. 20-21, Lepore said.
There are also holiday shows – Cirque Dreams Holidaze – at PPAC – and BalletRI's presentation of "The Nutcracker" – at the Vets on Friday through Sunday, as well as "The Christmas Carol" at Trinity Repertory Company.
Law enforcement officials said they are tracking multiple leads in the ongoing search, but still don't know where he is, or his motive.
12:41 pm ET December 18, 2025
ACLU: People should be 'concerned' about secrecy around Brown PD
Katie Mulvaney
Themass shooting at Brown Universitydemonstrates why people should be concerned about the Ivy League school’s positionthat it has “no obligation” to release police reports, said Steven Brown, executive director of the state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union.
“That’s extraordinary, but that’s their position. I think everyone should be concerned about the secrecy surrounding the [Brown] police department and its actions,” Brown said Dec. 18.
The ACLU in June sued Brown University and its Department of Public Safety on behalf of two reporters, Michael Bilow and then-Brown student Noble Brigham, over its refusal to turn over police reports. They argue that Brown must abide by the Access to Public Records Act, just as any other Rhode Island police agency.
APRA, they said, applies to private agencies that are "acting on behalf of and/or in place of any public agency." The attorney general’s office backed the university’s position, finding that it had not violated APRA.
Bilow is a reporter with Motif Magazine and Brigham formerly reported at the Brown Daily Herald, and occasionally wrote for The Providence Journal.
Brown is seeking to dismiss the case. It argues that its police department is not a “public body” and as such is not required to disclose arrest reports under state open records law.
The school asserts that the case is moot because the reporter either obtained, or could have obtained, the records they sought from the Providence Police Department because Brown police are required to turn over all arrest reports to Providence.
11:59 am ET December 18, 2025
Brown professor: Length of manhunt for mass shooter not abnormal
Margie Cullen
The search for the perpetrator in the mass shooting at Brown University has been ongoing for nearly a week. But Brandon del Pozo, an assistant professor at Brown University and a former police officer, said in an op-ed for The Atlantic published Dec. 18 that the length of time is not evidence of “police incompetence” or even “disarray” in the FBI.
When an attacker in a mass shooting is caught quickly, del Pozo said, it is often due to a “good deal of luck.” He mentions the Sandy Hook shooter, who killed his mother before going to the school, and the suspect accused of killing Charlie Kirk, who was given up by his family.
“In a nation with more mass shootings than all other rich countries combined, as a matter of sheer volume, there will be incidents in which an unknown shooter with an unknown motive makes an escape,” del Pozo said.
As an older campus surrounded by older homes in a midsize New England city, Brown doesn’t have the number of cameras somewhere like New York City might have. Even with that number of cameras, it still took five days for police to arrest Luigi Mangione after the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was gunned down on a Midtown Manhattan sidewalk in broad daylight.
del Pozo said that without luck, identifying a suspect requires hours of “boring, hard work” looking at millions of bits of evidence. Indeed, Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez said that they are looking at “terabytes of data" and that finding the right moment is "incredible hard work" at a press conference on Tuesday.
11:47 am ET December 18, 2025
Smiley breaks down why old 311 information did not carry to new system
Wheeler Cowperthwaite
Since the Brown University mass shooting on Dec. 13, city officials have been peppered with questions about the city's 311 system and why, seemingly, only some residents received notification about the active shooter on Brown's campus.
Mayor Brett Smiley explained that the city rolled out a new 311 system in March of this year, and that residents both needed to sign up for that new system and opt-in to receive text message alerts.
Smiley said that the current 311 is an "entirely new" system and nothing – not the text message opt-ins or even old pothole reports – carried over. Even if a resident has the old 311 app on their phone, Smiley said that will not work.
"We are not using that app anymore," Smiley explained. "That is no longer the app."
See more of his explanation below:
11:23 am ET December 18, 2025
Brown welcomes 890 new students through Early Decision admission
Bailey Allen
Days after a gunman killed two students and injured nine others on Brown University’s campus, the Ivy League school sent Early Decision admission letters to hundreds of prospective undergraduates, welcoming them to the Class of 2030.
Brown, which typically releases Early Decision notifications in mid-December, delayed this year’s letters by two days to allow time for the community to “grieve, heal, and begin to move forward together.”
On Wednesday, Dec. 17, Brown University announced it had accepted 890 students from a pool of 5,406 Early Decision applicants who “demonstrated a tremendous array of academic achievements, talents, and interests.”
“While Brown continues to mourn the loss of two beloved students and support the healthy recovery of other community members impacted, University leaders said they recognize that admission decisions mark a very important day for the many talented applicants to Brown,” the university said in a statement.
The admitted students come from 46 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, as well as several other countries. About 66% of them applied for financial aid, and 16% will be the first in their family to attend college, the university said.
Of the admitted students, 453 attend public high schools, 333 attend private schools, 100 attend religious schools, and four are homeschooled.
Students who apply Early Decision to Brown commit to accepting an offer of admission. This year, the Early Decision application deadline was Nov. 1. Regular Decision applications are due Jan. 5, 2026.
10:42 am ET December 18, 2025
Why are officials being so protective of eyewitness accounts?
Jack Perry and Margie Cullen
Law enforcement officials have consistently deflected, or declined to answer, questions about what eyewitnesses and surviving students have described happening in the Barus & Holley building during the Dec. 13 mass shooting.
Journalists have raised those questions at press conferences, but have gotten few answers. But why are officials being so protective of those accounts?
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said the following at a press conference on Wednesday, Dec. 17:
"As we interview witnesses, we don't want them to learn facts from these press conferences. We want them to relay the facts that they have in their heads, including a person of interest,” Neronha said. “We don't want a person of interest to shape what they're telling us based on what we know as expressed to you about those kinds of details."
There could be other reasons, too, including ensuring that witnesses are safe, according to David Aaron, a former federal prosecutor who worked for the U.S. Department of Justice's National Security Division for more than 16 years. He is also a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan.
"It is always best if an investigative subject does not know the full scope of what law enforcement knows. If a fugitive knows that law enforcement is zeroing in on who he is, where he is, or other details about him, that could deprive law enforcement of tactical advantages," Aaron said via email. "But at least as important, in a murder or mass shooting case, we have to always have at front of mind that this individual is willing to kill, and this particular individual was willing to shoot multiple people. So disclosing whether witnesses have provided information could expose them to risk."
9:49 am ET December 18, 2025
Who are police looking for? How to call in tips
Katie Landeck, Antonia Noori Farzan and Bailey Allen
Police are looking for both a person of interest in the Brown University mass shooting who matches eyewitness descriptions of the shooter, as well as a person they say was "in proximity" to that person of interest.
The police and the FBI have released numerous photos and videos of the person of interest, as well as several photos of the other person they are seeking to identify and speak with.
According to the FBI, the person of interest is approximately 5'8" with a stocky build, though Providence Police have not released any new descriptors.
A $50,000 reward has been established by the FBI for information that leads to the identification, arrest and prosecution of the shooter, whom law enforcement described as "armed and dangerous."
Tips can be called in to the Providence Police at 401-272-3121, called in to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or electronically at tips.fbi.gov.
7:33 am ET December 18, 2025
Brown University shooting timeline: See every key update through Wednesday
Margie Cullen
Six days after the mass shooting at Brown University on Saturday, Dec. 13, the gunman remains at large as authorities continue to ask for the public's help.
Developments in the mass shooting Saturday and in the investigation since have unfolded rapidly over the past couple days. Here is a timeline of key moments through Wednesday
6:46 am ET December 18, 2025
Police release map showing where person of interest was before, after shooting
Antonia Noori Farzan
Providence Police have released a map showing where the person of interest in the Brown shooting "is confirmed to have been present on the day of the incident."
It indicates that before the shooting, the individual was in the following locations: Manning Street between Hope Street and George Street, Cooke Street between Manning Street and Benevolent, George Street between Hope Street and Governor Street, Hope Street between George Street and Benevolent Street, and Governor Street between Benevolent Street and Young Orchard Avenue,
Streets where the person of interest was present after the shooting include: Hope Street from Manning Street to Waterman Street, Waterman Street from Hope Street to Governor Street, and one block of Ives Street between Pitman Street and East Manning Street.
Police are requesting any camera footage from buildings or vehicles in the "blue zone" from any time on the day of the shooting. That area stretches from Waterman Street to Wickenden Street, and Gano Street to Thayer Street.
5:01 am ET December 18, 2025
Journal Exclusive: Col. Perez says police receive '200 tips per day'
Mark Reynolds
Providence's police chief, Col. Oscar L. Perez Jr., said he finds the mass shooting at Brown University particularly sad because the department is "constantly trying" to prevent and "mitigate" violence in the city.
"As a father, who has kids who go to college, going away, I want to get answers to the parents," Perez added. "I want to get answers to the families, and I can't even begin to imagine what they're feeling."
As Perez reflected on his feelings, he added, "But I'll tell you that it's all hands on deck, and the reaction is that now we have a job to do, and that's to work extremely hard to find who's responsible."
Perez acknowledged that the numbers have shown far fewer homicides than normal in the city this year.
"I never thought that Providence would face something like this," he said. "And so here we are, and so it's unexpected. It's something that's saddened us."
At one point on Saturday night, about 400 members of law enforcement, composed of officers from Providence and other Rhode Island jurisdictions as well as state police, federal agents and others, were part of the response to the mass violence, Perez said.
The majority of the officers and agents were not Providence police officers. The city has 461 sworn officers.
As of Wednesday, Dec. 17, the city still had significant assistance: A total of 12 agencies were at work on the case, Perez said.