RI - Mass Shooting at Brown University - Providence 13 Dec 2025

[ilgirl]

Brown University shooter Claudio Neves Valente took at least four trips up to Boston this year, with each visit getting longer than the last, The Post has learned.

Brown University shooter made multiple trips to Boston for surveillance before deadly attack: sources

It shows an extensive amount of pre-planning and surveillance, a law enforcement source told The Post.

nypost.com

His trips:

• February 13-15
• April 8-25
• October 26-November 16
• November 17-26
• December 1-?

The first visit came a month after NL received an award.

That article really surprised me. He spent a TON of time planning out what he was going to do, it seems. And he had to be able to pay for hotel rooms, rental cars, meals...plus that article says he had a very expensive condo at some point in Miami, in addition to other residences. And 2 very expensive cars plus a third car. So apparently he made a lot of money despite not getting his PhD, which was not something I expected. I thought he was just bitter that he hadn't graduated from Brown and become successful, but maybe he had become successful in IT or whatever he did end up doing in the U.S. as well as Portugal. And maybe his motive regarding Loureiro was that he was more renowned, with the big presidential award and well-respected.

 

[acutename]

What???

Like secretly living there?

Guess that's the end of that now, huh?

I wondered what he was doing in that building when he said he saw the shooter go in to the restroom and thought he looked like he didn't belong there... Then I think he said he waited at the exit of the building for him to come out of the bathroom, and when he did, that was when he started following him all around the streets where we've seen the shooter walking on video!

What made him so suspicious of CV being in that building? Especially when he himself wasn't actually "supposed" to be in there either! Was it just because CV was an older person? Do we know how old John is? From what I read, he was a college student at Brown also, "years ago", I believe it said.

he lives in the building. the bathroom is part of his territory- sure students use it- briefly during class time on occasion. CV was probably there more and spending more time all over the building and not going to classes - not carrying a laptop or notes or acting like a student, snooping around. IMO

 

[no nonsense]

It's so interesting to me that CV's coworker at Sapo described him as a "sweetheart" and "extraordinarily approachable", and how that doesn't align with the descriptions from his university peers. Why was CV so unpleasant at Brown and his undergrad, yet so "approachable" when he was at Sapo? It seems like many accounts from people who knew CV in academia describe him as egotistical or narcissistic, and I can’t help but wonder how much of that assessment is notable only in retrospect.

I'm thinking back to my own doctoral program, and if LE had questioned me about a quarter of my cohort, I probably would have offered similar descriptions. This seems glib, but narcissism and superiority complexes can run rampant in certain graduate programs, and in some ways they’re culturally reinforced. Many students are accustomed to being the biggest fish in the pond, and when they're in a tank with other big fish that can foster intense competition that can become bitter and uncomfortable, with many seeking to 'prove their worth'. Some spent every waking hour researching, attending department events, or working TA positions.. and their sense of self became tightly interwoven with their academic standing. Any academic setback—minor or even simply perceived—was treated as personal and a sort of injustice done of them. It wasn't even necessarily a cut-throat environment but rather the outcome of a grouping together folks predisposed toward competition—people used to being the smartest person in the room, all vying for a pathway to get a rare TT position at some point in the distant future.

However, none of my former classmates went on to kill anyone; and obviously this culture doesn't organically spring up in every department at every university. But, I think this is all to say that I'm not entirely convinced that CV's egotism and disdain presented a significant barrier to his success in academia - I don't think it's an uncommon set of traits - and there's very likely more to it than that. Whatever it was presented itself while he was studying, but apparently not when he was working in IT.

I think it's entirely possible that CV lived an average, stable life outside of academia before something set him off (perhaps Prof. Loureiro's promotion or presidential award?)

No one in my doctoral program killed anyone either though one person, who, like Valente, also never finished the program, came from a mafia/crime family!!! AFAIK no hits were out on any of our classmates after that family member failed to finish the program!

 

[Charlot123]

Exactly the sort of thing I’d have expected.

A few earlier posts compared CV to Kohberger. Both were found to be insufferable and arrogant by some. Both ended up being killers. But intellectually, CV was on a different level. (Read BK’s writing and you’ll know what I mean.)

The true tragedies of this case were the deaths of three people, along with the injured and the traumatised students, family and friends.

There’s another tragedy, too: that a man as gifted as this should end up killing. So few people could do what CV could but his flaws overcame his remarkable strengths and caused so much suffering.

They might have had certain similar traits.

However, BK was going the way of typical hedonistic serial killers. Frustration, sadism, control. He'd continue this route in PA.

Valente, IMHO stands closer to "social justice warriors". He punishes "institutions" and "the society", although on this way, he kills people. He might have been protesting against the fact that society "rewarded the ones who did not deserve it". He probably was blaming own failures on "the society". Either he blamed in on any society but it was easier to organize revenge in the US, or he blamed it on the US specifically (where he thought he failed.)

Or, it could have been more direct revenge. Nuno seemed to have good social skills, and it implies, being nice to people, saying "yes" if you can and sometimes walking an extra mile to do something nice. So I can imagine that Nuno could tell Claudio, when they studied in Institut Technico in Portugal, "hey, I got a letter telling me about this postgraduate program at Brown, they have a place. I am going to stay with the lab here, but perhaps you are interested?" - and hand him the information.

Can you? It is always done among graduates and colleagues! "Such-and-such company is interviewing", or "there is a good internship offered to me, but I don't want to move to the other coast", or any such information. It is incredibly common in academia.

So i wonder if CV got the information about Brown from Nuno, who could say, look, it is an Ivy League school in the US! And then Claudio applied and got accepted, and moved to the US, having sold his condo, planning to stay forever, and totally failed.

(You always take yourself everywhere, that's the problem. He could be thinking that addressing a Brazilian man the way he did was "a joke", but i understand the reaction it caused in the Brown of 2001. And how many of such faux pas Claudio could have made? I suspect that he was actively disliked in Brown)

So he failed on his own, and it was a big failure in his mind, and got back home, but since he could not accept own fault, I can see him blaming it on others in his school.

And when Nuno moved to the US and achieved success, Claudio could have, in his twisted mind, created a story of Nuno "removing a more talented person, me, off his way". He might have even read about Nuno working in the MIT by accident, and then created an overvalued paranoid idea.

I think that it could have been his plan because he was so angry with Brown (where he failed) and angry with Nuno (who moved to the US and succeeded). And, we don't have any evidence of him being a serial killer or a predator. He doesn't come across as hedonistic. He is a paranoid, envious, revengeful man.

So, maybe someone with BK's traits, but not BK-type of a killer.

 

[wibbleflea]

We know CV graduated in Portugal with excellent marks in an MSc or equivalent degree. And he seems to have left the PhD program at Brown – nothing suggests so far that he was asked to leave. (He felt like the material beneath him and some members of his cohort seem to suggest that perhaps it was.)

We know that later, CV successfully worked a very good job – almost definitely high-paying – with Sapo in Portugal as a programmer, and was apparently very good at it and even liked by his colleagues. He worked there twice and both times (no surprise), he left abruptly.

I’m wondering whether, when he got his green card, he tried to move back into physics, perhaps contacting Loureiro or staff at Brown (?), expecting to be welcomed, and was rebuffed. Or could even have asked Loureiro for references or help with finding work.

If he’d been a complete dropout who’d never had a proper job, I could see some decades-long grudge being more likely. But this guy had a master’s degree from an excellent Portuguese university, had finished at the top of his class, could code well enough that colleagues talked about his being some kind of genius, had worked at a high level and had a green card to work in the US.

I think the trigger that set off this rage for this explosive personality was more recent.

 

[wibbleflea]

I think that it could have been his plan because he was so angry with Brown (where he failed) and angry with Nuno (who moved to the US and succeeded).

Agreed with a lot of what you wrote but, from what we know, he was somewhat contemptuous of Brown and left. If he’d failed academically, that would provide some explanation, given his personality. Or if he’d never worked again, except doing menial odd jobs. That isn’t the case, though. I think something happened more recently that this deeply flawed personality couldn’t handle.

 

[Charlot123]

We know CV graduated in Portugal with excellent marks in an MSc or equivalent degree. And he seems to have left the PhD program at Brown – nothing suggests so far that he was asked to leave. (He felt like the material beneath him and some members of his cohort seem to suggest that perhaps it was.)

We know that later, CV successfully worked a very good job – almost definitely high-paying – with Sapo in Portugal as a programmer, and was apparently very good at it and even liked by his colleagues. He worked there twice and both times (no surprise), he left abruptly.

I’m wondering whether, when he got his green card, he tried to move back into physics, perhaps contacting Loureiro or staff at Brown (?), expecting to be welcomed, and was rebuffed. Or could even have asked Loureiro for references or help with finding work.

If he’d been a complete dropout who’d never had a proper job, I could see some decades-long grudge being more likely. But this guy had a master’s degree from an excellent Portuguese university, had finished at the top of his class, could code well enough that colleagues talked about his being some kind of genius, had worked at a high level and had a green card to work in the US.

I think the trigger that set off this rage for this explosive personality was more recent.

Could be. But then, we know nothing of his personal life.

Also, if i get a dollar each time I read about a killer being such a great neighbor or coworker, I'd be rich. The pride and joy of the community who cuts neighbors grass for free and then shoots people in a local church is rather the norm.

Sounds like the only person who had the honesty to describe Valente as a mean racist was his only friend at Brown.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

Lived in Vegas for a bit when he first returned to the US in 2017, apparently.

Can't help but recall that the crazy mass shooting in Las Vegas was that autumn of 2017. Wonder if it gave him ideas or started him thinking in a certain direction. MOO

 

[Charlot123]

It's so interesting to me that CV's coworker at Sapo described him as a "sweetheart" and "extraordinarily approachable", and how that doesn't align with the descriptions from his university peers. Why was CV so unpleasant at Brown and his undergrad, yet so "approachable" when he was at Sapo? It seems like many accounts from people who knew CV in academia describe him as egotistical or narcissistic, and I can’t help but wonder how much of that assessment is notable only in retrospect.

I'm thinking back to my own doctoral program, and if LE had questioned me about a quarter of my cohort, I probably would have offered similar descriptions. This seems glib, but narcissism and superiority complexes can run rampant in certain graduate programs, and in some ways they’re culturally reinforced. Many students are accustomed to being the biggest fish in the pond, and when they're in a tank with other big fish that can foster intense competition that can become bitter and uncomfortable, with many seeking to 'prove their worth'. Some spent every waking hour researching, attending department events, or working TA positions.. and their sense of self became tightly interwoven with their academic standing. Any academic setback—minor or even simply perceived—was treated as personal and a sort of injustice done of them. It wasn't even necessarily a cut-throat environment but rather the outcome of a grouping together folks predisposed toward competition—people used to being the smartest person in the room, all vying for a pathway to get a rare TT position at some point in the distant future.

However, none of my former classmates went on to kill anyone; and obviously this culture doesn't organically spring up in every department at every university. But, I think this is all to say that I'm not entirely convinced that CV's egotism and disdain presented a significant barrier to his success in academia - I don't think it's an uncommon set of traits - and there's very likely more to it than that. Whatever it was presented itself while he was studying, but apparently not when he was working in IT.

I think it's entirely possible that CV lived an average, stable life outside of academia before something set him off (perhaps Prof. Loureiro's promotion or presidential award?)

You know, I wonder if we tend to describe a person from one perspectives. "A nice a helpful corwotker". But it doesn't tell us much about the whole person.
Was he generous or a miser, for example?

 

[Charlot123]

No one in my doctoral program killed anyone either though one person, who, like Valente, also never finished the program, came from a mafia/crime family!!! AFAIK no hits were out on any of our classmates after that family member failed to finish the program!

If i knew that a person in my Ph.D. program came from a mafia family, I'd feel more relaxed and think that the program is "well-protected", lol!

 

[O.Incandenza]

That article really surprised me. He spent a TON of time planning out what he was going to do, it seems. And he had to be able to pay for hotel rooms, rental cars, meals...plus that article says he had a very expensive condo at some point in Miami, in addition to other residences. And 2 very expensive cars plus a third car. So apparently he made a lot of money despite not getting his PhD, which was not something I expected. I thought he was just bitter that he hadn't graduated from Brown and become successful, but maybe he had become successful in IT or whatever he did end up doing in the U.S. as well as Portugal. And maybe his motive regarding Loureiro was that he was more renowned, with the big presidential award and well-respected.

It could also be a more personal motive. They went to school together for 5 years and apparently lived in Lisbon at the same time for more than a decade after that. That leaves open the possibility for plenty of interaction and personal animosity, romantic rivalry, etc.

Of course none of that explains the Brown shooting, so it definitely could be a professional jealousy thing as well.

 

[indicolite22]

Early on CV had a similar TA experience to Kohberger's:

He also made his mark at the Instituto Superior Técnico. He finished his degree with a grade of 19 out of 20, was invited to be a teaching assistant, but was dismissed after problems in his relationship with the students.

ETA: Elsewhere the 19/20 grade refers to one class only.

The article below also claims that CV reconnected with NL before the murder:

Cláudio Valente had re-established contact with Nuno Loureiro and therefore knew where he lived. The Portuguese scientist is believed to have opened his door to his friend,

Cláudio Valente retomou contacto para preparar homicídio de ex-colega Nuno Loureiro - Portugal - Correio da Manhã

Cláudio retomou o contacto com Nuno para saber onde morava e preparar o ataque. Matou o cientista português a tiro. Um aluno brilhante, que se dizia incompreendido. Terminou o curso com 19 valores.

www.cmjornal.pt

 

[wibbleflea]

Could be. But then, we know nothing of his persona life

True and it’s a big unknown. The one coworker from Sapo who said she got on with him socially and professionally also said he never spoke about his private life or family. We have coworkers and fellow students speaking (one neighbour, perhaps?) but so far, not a single person who was just a friend, let alone a best friend. Hard to overstate the significance of that. Perhaps it will change.

Also, if i get a dollar each time I read about a killer being such a great neighbor or coworker, I'd be rich. The pride and joy of the community who cuts neighbors grass for free and then shoots people in a local church is rather the norm.

True that it isn’t unique to hear positive comments about someone who turns out to be a killer. But I’d say in the majority of cases, you hear from plenty of people who’d felt something unnerving or dangerous about a perpetrator, long before he killed. It’s probably true of most cases here, too, including BK.

I guess the other question is whether this was CV’s first major crime? I know that LE made it clear that there’s no criminal record in the US but that’s a different thing.

 

[indicolite22]

That article really surprised me. He spent a TON of time planning out what he was going to do, it seems. And he had to be able to pay for hotel rooms, rental cars, meals...plus that article says he had a very expensive condo at some point in Miami, in addition to other residences. And 2 very expensive cars plus a third car. So apparently he made a lot of money despite not getting his PhD, which was not something I expected. I thought he was just bitter that he hadn't graduated from Brown and become successful, but maybe he had become successful in IT or whatever he did end up doing in the U.S. as well as Portugal. And maybe his motive regarding Loureiro was that he was more renowned, with the big presidential award and well-respected.

He may have been driving expensive cars, but he lived in a rented house (a former family home) with multiple other renters. One neighbor described the house as "somewhat transient".

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/claudio-neves-valente-brown-mit-shooter-nuno-loureiro-efd84bd3

 

[indicolite22]

From the time he was a TA at IST:

"Parents came to see him because he was alone, and he wouldn't open the door": neighbors recall Cláudio Valente's past.
...
"He later sold the house and his parents didn't know. It was a heartbreak for his mother."

"Pais vinham vê-lo, porque ele estava sozinho, e ele não abria a porta": vizinhos recordam passado de Cláudio Valente

Os vizinhos recordam-no com sentimentos contraditórios, lembrando que era querido e dava aulas como assistente, mas também tinha problemas de relacionamento. O suspeito de homicídios nos Estados Unidos, filho único, vendeu a casa sem avisar os pais, causando grande desgosto à mãe.

sicnoticias.pt

 

[indicolite22]

The 14-year-old daughter of the Portuguese physicist shot dead in Boston witnessed her father's death.

Filha de 14 anos do físico português morto a tiro em Boston assistiu à morte do pai

Menina olhou nos olhos do atirador.

www.cmjornal.pt

IMO there is still doubt if the killer really contacted the victim beforehand. The daughter looked the killer in the eye and was able to describe him to police. Even if the two former classmates were in contact, the encounter was a surprise.

 

[OneLove]

From the time he was a TA at IST:

"Parents came to see him because he was alone, and he wouldn't open the door": neighbors recall Cláudio Valente's past.
...
"He later sold the house and his parents didn't know. It was a heartbreak for his mother."

"Pais vinham vê-lo, porque ele estava sozinho, e ele não abria a porta": vizinhos recordam passado de Cláudio Valente

Os vizinhos recordam-no com sentimentos contraditórios, lembrando que era querido e dava aulas como assistente, mas também tinha problemas de relacionamento. O suspeito de homicídios nos Estados Unidos, filho único, vendeu a casa sem avisar os pais, causando grande desgosto à mãe.

sicnoticias.pt

This leads me to wonder if he was an injustice collector, one who can never get over any slight, whether real or imagined, whether large or insignificantly small.

 

[curiouser_]

As a 3rd generation Portuguese (Azorean) person - my entire family was high achieving with an impeccable work ethic. I truly believe that he did not feel that he lived up to his full potential and tried to take out the people who had the brightest futures. He was a miserable human being. That’s all I can surmise.

ETA: I’m an engineer.