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Long-Standing Grudge Linked to Tragic Shootings at Brown University and MIT
PROVIDENCE, RI – A deep-seated, two-decade-long grudge is believed to be the driving force behind the recent deadly mass shooting at Brown University and the subsequent murder of an MIT nuclear physics professor, according to law enforcement sources.
Authorities report that the alleged perpetrator, Claudio Valente, recorded a video in Portuguese detailing his actions. In the video, Valente explained his decision to open fire on a study group at Brown’s engineering and physics building on December 13th.
The attack tragically claimed the lives of two students and injured nine others. Following the Brown University incident, Valente then fatally shot MIT professor Nuno Loureiro at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Valente, a former graduate student at Brown, reportedly indicated in the video that he had been planning the shooting for an extended period. The violent events sent shockwaves across the nation, triggering a six-day manhunt throughout New England just before the Christmas holiday.
The search concluded with Valente’s death by suicide, his body discovered in a New Hampshire storage facility. Federal agents spent the holidays meticulously examining electronic devices found with Valente and in an adjacent storage unit. Sources indicate that further devices are yet to be accessed, and additional information regarding the dual shootings, which cast a somber shadow over two of the nation’s premier universities, is expected to emerge.
In a statement released Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts confirmed that Valente “admitted that he had been planning the Brown University shooting for a long time” in the videos, identifying Brown as his “intended target.” Transcripts of the videos were also made public.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office further stated, “Neves Valente showed no remorse during the recordings; on the contrary, he exposed his true nature when he blamed innocent, unarmed children for their deaths at his hand and grumbled about a self-inflicted injury he suffered when he shot the MIT professor at close range.”
While the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office continues its investigation into the motive behind the shootings and notes that Valente did not explicitly provide one in his initial review of the evidence, law enforcement sources reveal that Valente did describe 20-year grudges that ultimately led him to acquire firearms, transport them to New England, and carry out the attacks.