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

[I am not Sherlock H.]

"The homeless man who cracked the Brown University shooter case
is no longer living on the streets and
'being taken care of' by the feds,
it has emerged.

Federal officials are housing John in a hotel
and making sure he is provided meals,
a source said.

The insider added
that John could possibly receive the $50,000 award that the FBI had offered for information that led to a break in the case.

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley has also urged the agency's director Kash Patel
to give John the award for his work to help solve the crime.

'John is no less than a hero',
Smiley wrote in a letter to Patel.

'His bravery, selflessness and stewardship on behalf of his community
went far beyond what anyone could ever hope from a tip'."

Insane twist of fate for homeless hero who cracked Brown shooter case

The tipster, known under the pseudonym John, who cracked the Brown University shooter case is no longer living on the streets and 'being taken care of' by the feds.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Thank you @Dotta for passing this along. And please know that my thoughts are not at all directed at you.

Yet the chose of words in the headline. SMH. What IMO an unnecessary and disgusting word choice. ‘Insane’. Not needed IMO. And not appropriate.

No adjective was necessary. How about instead, A Twist of Fate….. or simply Twist of Fate?

Perhaps the writer has never struggled themselves, or met or known any family members or individuals with struggles, fleets of not sane behavior conduct, insanity, or mental health struggles. Or never been to or met an individual that had been committed to an institution?

It is not necessary IMO to further desensitize others or sensationalize by use or overuse or misuse of words. Particularly one that some might find unnecessary, inflammatory, or not appropriate in the circumstances.

Thankful that the individual came forth and shared their observations and concerns. And that the perpetrator was located. MOO

 

[Elley Mae]

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

 

[indicolite22]

CV's former TA at IST (he did not teach NL), who portrayed CV as argumentative in class and trying to show he was better than other students, has been criticized by CV's classmates.

Several ex-students disputed that characterization, however, saying that while Valente could be arrogant at times, he conducted himself much like other brilliant students and did not exhibit any antisocial behavior.

Brown University shooter took IT job in Portugal after abandoning physics pursuit

The man who police say killed two Brown University students and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist had cut short a promising academic career to take a modest software developer job back in his native Portugal before returning to the United States in 2017.

www.reuters.com

Other sources do claim that CV was dropped as a TA because of conflicts with students.

 

[no nonsense]

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!

I was invited to their compound. I went, but I have to admit I was a little nervous.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

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.

THIS is a question that I had.... had that unit for 3 years! Why?

A tip led authorities to zero in on Neves Valente, who was found dead of suicide in a North Salem, New Hampshire storage facility that a source said he’d owned since 2022.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

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.

How was he able to do this???
One of his last known addresses was registered in the name of his 91-year-old dad.

 

[indicolite22]

"The Cláudio I knew wasn't a monster, a psychopath. Not even an 'outsider'."

CV's description by an anonymous classmate from IST: empathetic, a companion for dinners, university parties, and trips to the movies, occasionally infatuated with someone, diligent and studious, "exceptional" in intelligence and study, arrogant but not narcissistic or rude

"He wasn't more mysterious than most. He wasn't an outsider. He didn't isolate himself more than others. Cláudio was perfectly normal. Until he gave up his PhD at Brown, after a year there, in 2001.”

According to this colleague, CV still attended dinners (until 2010) after his return to Portugal from the US. He worked in IT for the same company from 2001 to 2006 and from 2010 to 2013. He wasn't happy, but was OK. They lost contact with him after 2017.

A different account from CV's TA (mentioned in earlier posts): “He was very impatient. There were many people with very developed egos in the course, and he wanted to demonstrate that they weren't as smart as they thought. He created problems in class.”

His IST classmate is defending him, saying that CV wasn't rude but rather demanding with everyone. He studied the books before classes and would react to poorly founded arguments. He did not insult others.

CV's TA, who kept in contact with him afterwards, insists that CV took his attitude to Brown, provoking unnecessary conflicts with doctoral colleagues in class.

CV's former classmate at Brown gives a possible reason for CV's dissatisfaction: “Sometimes American universities require foreign students to retake certain subjects, instead of taking the entrance exam right away."

More from CV's IST classmate (also about NL) at:

“O Cláudio que conheci não era um monstro, um psicopata. Nem sequer um 'outsider'”

“Este vai ser o fardo com que vamos viver — nunca saber o porquê.”É um colega de curso do Técnico, o curso de Engenharia Física Tecnológica 1995/2000 no qual es

www.dn.pt

 

[nhmemorymaker]

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.

quoting from above:
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.

I am sure they are scrutinizing Loureiro's records as well.... Obviously, we are learning more and more each day...

 

[wibbleflea]

"The Cláudio I knew wasn't a monster, a psychopath. Not even an 'outsider'."

CV's description by an anonymous classmate from IST: empathetic, a companion for dinners, university parties, and trips to the movies, occasionally infatuated with someone, diligent and studious, "exceptional" in intelligence and study, arrogant but not narcissistic or rude

"He wasn't more mysterious than most. He wasn't an outsider. He didn't isolate himself more than others. Cláudio was perfectly normal. Until he gave up his PhD at Brown, after a year there, in 2001.”

His IST classmate is defending him, saying that CV wasn't rude but rather demanding with everyone. He studied the books before classes and would react to poorly founded arguments. He did not insult others.

Interesting to read. A huge thanks for posting links to the Portuguese articles! (Edit: and for the analysis and snippets!)

 

[Sundog]

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.

I've seen it posted several times on this thread that CV's parents were wealthy, so maybe he has access at one point to their wealth, it's hard to say. Or maybe he just lived a very frugal life and saved a lot of money over the years, and if he was planning to end his life, he emptied his bank account to make the many trips from Miami to Boston, Providence, etc. to plan his massacre and assassination. I hope we will hear more from LE about his bank accounts and withdrawals if they seem to be related to his crimes.

If there is a lot of money left in his bank accounts or investments, I hope the families of the victims at Brown University file a civil lawsuit quickly to make sure that the funds are not transferred out of the country to his family, who are the next of kin. I assume they would be the legitimate heirs of his estate even though overseas.

 

[99cats]

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!

Were you in a humanities/social sciences doctoral program by chance? I know of someone from a, um, connected family who was getting his PhD in History and his family was thrilled when he dropped out lol.

EDIT: I say this as someone who was also in a History program, and whose family was.. confused as to why I spent so much time and effort on it lol.

 

[99cats]

"The Cláudio I knew wasn't a monster, a psychopath. Not even an 'outsider'."

CV's description by an anonymous classmate from IST: empathetic, a companion for dinners, university parties, and trips to the movies, occasionally infatuated with someone, diligent and studious, "exceptional" in intelligence and study, arrogant but not narcissistic or rude

"He wasn't more mysterious than most. He wasn't an outsider. He didn't isolate himself more than others. Cláudio was perfectly normal. Until he gave up his PhD at Brown, after a year there, in 2001.”

According to this colleague, CV still attended dinners (until 2010) after his return to Portugal from the US. He worked in IT for the same company from 2001 to 2006 and from 2010 to 2013. He wasn't happy, but was OK. They lost contact with him after 2017.

A different account from CV's TA (mentioned in earlier posts): “He was very impatient. There were many people with very developed egos in the course, and he wanted to demonstrate that they weren't as smart as they thought. He created problems in class.”

His IST classmate is defending him, saying that CV wasn't rude but rather demanding with everyone. He studied the books before classes and would react to poorly founded arguments. He did not insult others.

CV's TA, who kept in contact with him afterwards, insists that CV took his attitude to Brown, provoking unnecessary conflicts with doctoral colleagues in class.

CV's former classmate at Brown gives a possible reason for CV's dissatisfaction: “Sometimes American universities require foreign students to retake certain subjects, instead of taking the entrance exam right away."

More from CV's IST classmate (also about NL) at:

“O Cláudio que conheci não era um monstro, um psicopata. Nem sequer um 'outsider'”

“Este vai ser o fardo com que vamos viver — nunca saber o porquê.”É um colega de curso do Técnico, o curso de Engenharia Física Tecnológica 1995/2000 no qual es

www.dn.pt

Thank you for sharing this article. I had wondered if his behavior would be considered "out of the norm" within his cohort, and if he was always an outsider.

I think the former classmates might be on to something about universities requiring international students to take additional coursework. From what I've seen, many of these requirements don't make a ton of sense - such as requiring someone already admitted to an English PhD to take ESL exams or coursework. I'm not sure of what requirements Brown placed on international students, but to someone like CV, that might have frustrated/infuriated them.

 

[Lebowski]

THIS is a question that I had.... had that unit for 3 years! Why?

A tip led authorities to zero in on Neves Valente, who was found dead of suicide in a North Salem, New Hampshire storage facility that a source said he’d owned since 2022.

this is crazy. now i am damned curious what was in there.

also curious to know what's on the 3 flash drives he had with him.

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2002797649485803644

'Mass shooters tend to see themselves as victims
— victims of injustice...
They want to punish people
who they hold responsible for their misery'.

 

[Telltale]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2002797649485803644

Kind of what everyone already pieced together. Though I don't see anything in the article that backs up the conclusion that he had some insane 29 year grudge against Brown.

Granted, its hard to think of an alternative reason right now, but the way his school friend tells it makes it seem like he wasn't thrown out his program or anything. He decided to quit because he found the level of the course beneath him. It's an interesting factor that this might even be true. Sources seem to agree he really was as brilliant as he thought he was.

Of course, alternatively that might have been a face-saving lie CV told his only friend at the school, and actually there was some conflict or situation that resulted in him being asked to or decided to drop out.


What he's been doing since he got back to the US in 2017 is the question I've not seen the answer to yet.

 

[Arkay]

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.

I’ve been wondering the same.

At this point we are all wracking our brains, trying to figure out when and why he fell into the abyss.

IMO it will remain conjecture unless something from Cláudio’s own words turn up somewhere.

It may indeed be some ancient rivalry between him and Prof. Loureiro going back to their younger days in Portugal. I personally see Loureiro as much more conventionally attractive than he was. Maybe years ago Cláudio was slimmer, but not as tall or handsome. For all we know right now, perhaps he did see Dr. Loureiro as not only an academic rival, but as someone more popular and successful with women.

Completely spitballing here, naturally, but a 20+ year grudge that ends in targeting someone he knew a world away bespeaks of a deep-seated, long simmering hatred.

Why Brown and murdering kids who weren’t even born when they were both in Portugal does seem to indicate some bitter root focused on Brown that escalated over the years.

JMO and speculation.