How police tracked Brown University, MIT professor shooter to N.H. storage unit
Following a manhunt that spread across several New England states, police tracked Claudio Neves Valente, the man believed to be responsible for a shooting on the Brown University campus that left two students dead, as well as the killing of an MIT professor in Boston, to a storage unit in Salem, N.H., where he was found dead on Thursday night.
At a press conference in Providence, investigators detailed how they were able to pursue Neves Valente, 48, to the seemingly remote storage location.
The investigation was cracked, according to Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, when a witness came forward to detail an altercation he had with the suspect on the day of the Brown shooting. From that person's description, police were able to confirm the shooter's car, a gray Nissan Sentra with Florida plates, which they then tracked to a rental car agency in Boston.
Neves Valente had used his real name and financial information to rent the car on Dec. 1, allowing investigators to begin tracking his financial movements.
A photo of Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, provided by Leah Foley, the U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts. Authorities say Neves-Valente is the person who shot at Brown University students Dec. 13, killing two and injuring nine others and who also, two days later, killed an MIT professor in Brookline who he knew. As of Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, investigators did not yet know his motives.Courtesy of U.S. Attorney Leah Foley's office
Through those records, investigators discovered Neves Valente had rented the storage unit in Salem in November.
Around 4 p.m. on Saturday, investigators believe Neves Valente entered the Barus and Hall building on the Brown campus and opened fire. He fled the scene after shooting 11 people, two of whom died .
Following the shooting at Brown, investigators believe Neves Valente returned to Boston, and on Dec. 15, he shot MIT professor Nuno F.G. Lureiro, killing Lureiro in the foyer of his Brookline apartment.
Flowers are left on a bench outside the Barus and Holley building on the campus of Brown University.Mike Grimala
According to U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley, immediately after killing Lureiro, Neves Valente drove to the storage facility in Salem.
Foley said security footage captured Neves Valente "within a half mile" of Lureiro's apartment building at the time Lureiro was killed. They were able to match that video with footage that placed Neves Valente in the storage facility.
"About an hour later, he is seen entering the storage unit wearing the same clothes that he had been seen wearing right after the [Lureiro] murder," Foley said.
Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said the FBI and other agencies were able to verify the financial documents that revealed the storage unit.
"It was multiple agencies that verified financial records that brought us to that site, to know that he had actually rented a site at the storage facility," Perez said. "And then we ended up in Salem."
A heavy police presence descended upon the storage facility Thursday night, where they found Neves Valente dead of a self-inflicted gunshot.
Perez said police did not know how long Neves Valente had been in the storage unit. Foley said Neves Valente was found with a satchel, but nothing else was immediately recovered.
"There was nothing else found in there that I am aware of," Foley said. "They still in the process of searching that facility."
Neronha said investigators were able to uncover "visual evidence" that confirmed Neves Valente had previously been inside the Salem storage facility, allowing them to focus the search to that location.
"He didn't just drive to some random storage area," Neronha said. "We found records with the help of the FBI and others that that was his storage area."
A bouquet of flowers rests on snow, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, on the campus of Brown University not far from where a shooting took place, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)AP
No motive has been announced. And no reason has been given for Neves Valente choosing the Salem storage location.
Perez said investigators followed the evidence, which brought them to Salem.
"All we knew is that we were on a manhunt, and that's where he led us to," Perez said.
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