The suspect in the fatal shootings at Brown University last weekend and of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor just days later was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Thursday night in Salem, New Hampshire, officials said.
The body of Claudio Neves Valente, 48 — a former Brown student and a Portuguese national — was found in a storage facility, WCVB-TV reported.
'We don’t know why now, why Brown, why these students, and why this classroom.'
Earlier Thursday multiple reports indicated a person of interest had been identified in the Brown shooting, which took the lives of two students and wounded nine others Saturday at the Ivy League school in Providence, Rhode Island. Authorities also were investigating possible ties between the Brown shooting and the fatal shooting Monday of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Providence police released several images and videos of a person of interest in the days following the deadly Brown shooting with no apparent luck.
RELATED: Person of interest ID'd in deadly Brown U. shooting; warrant issued: Multiple reports
But police told WCVB a witness provided investigators with a key tip: He saw someone who looked like the person of interest with a Nissan sedan displaying Florida plates.
That bit of information led Providence police to dive into a network of more than 70 street cameras operated around the city by surveillance company Flock Safety, the station said, adding that those cameras track license plates and other vehicle details.
Providence officials said the suspect then placed a Maine license plate over the rental car’s plate to help conceal his identity after he left Rhode Island for Massachusetts, WCVB reported.
The station said in a separate story that surveillance video from MIT professor Loureiro's Brookline neighborhood allegedly shows the gunman there days before the deadly shooting, according to Leah B. Foley, United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.
Investigators said video from inside Loureiro's apartment shows Neves Valente wearing a specific set of clothes before shooting the professor in the lobby Monday, WCVB reported.
A neighbor said in a WBZ-TV video report that the fatal shooting of Loureiro was a "surprise ... and a shooting in a state where it's so hard to even have a gun?" The neighbor also said fellow neighbors noted a nearby car was "parked in the wrong direction" and "seemed to be waiting."
Hours after the Loureiro shooting, Foley said surveillance video from a storage unit facility in Salem, New Hampshire, shows the gunman wearing the same clothes seen on the Brookline cameras, the station added. Neves Valente was found dead inside the storage facility Thursday night.
Brown University President Christina Paxson said Neves Valente was enrolled at the college from the fall of 2000 to the spring of 2001, the station said, adding that he was admitted to the graduate school to study physics beginning in September 2000. Paxson said he had "no current affiliation with the university,” WCVB reported.
Neves Valente had studied at Brown on a student visa and obtained legal permanent residence status in September 2017, the station said, adding that his last known residence was in Miami.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha told WCVB there are “a lot of unknowns” in regard to motive: “We don’t know why now, why Brown, why these students, and why this classroom."
Foley said Neves Valente and Loureiro were former classmates at an academic program in Portugal between 1995 and 2000, the station noted.
Loureiro graduated in 2000 from the physics program at Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal’s premier engineering school, WCVB reported, citing his MIT faculty page.
Neves Valente in 2000 was let go from a position at the Lisbon university, the station said, citing an archive of a termination notice from the school’s then-president in February 2000.
More from WCVB:
Loureiro, 47, who was married, joined MIT in 2016 and was named last year to lead the school’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, where he worked to advance clean energy technology and other research. The center, one of MIT’s largest labs, had more than 250 people working across seven buildings when he took the helm. He was a professor of physics and nuclear science and engineering.
Prior to the discovery of Neves Valente's body, police in Providence said the DNA of the Brown University suspected shooter had been gathered, and images and video of the person of interest matched eyewitness descriptions.
A person of interest was initially detained last weekend before law enforcement determined they had the wrong individual.
The Brown University students who were killed and wounded Saturday were studying for a final in a first-floor classroom in an older section of the engineering building when the shooter walked in and opened fire, WCVB said.
Sophomore Ella Cook, 19, and freshman Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, were killed in the shooting, the station said.
Cook, whose funeral is Monday, was active in her Alabama church and served as vice president of the Brown College Republicans, WCVB said, adding that Umurzokov’s family immigrated to the U.S. from Uzbekistan when he was a child and that he wanted to be a doctor.
The station added in regard to the wounded students, six were in stable condition Thursday, and the other three had been discharged.
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A person of interest has been identified in connection with the deadly Brown University shooting Saturday, a warrant has been issued, and authorities are investigating possible ties between the Brown shooting and the fatal shooting of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor days later, according to multiple reports.
The New York Times — citing a law enforcement official briefed on the matter who wasn't authorized to speak about the investigation — reported Thursday that authorities have identified a person of interest in the Brown shooting and are investigating a possible connection with the MIT professor's fatal shooting.
'A shooting in a state where it's so hard to even have a gun?'
Both CBS News and the Associated Press reported similarly to the Times; both CBS News and Fox News reported that a warrant has been issued.
The Times reported that the official said investigators are searching for the individual as well as a car that the person is believed to have rented — and that authorities believe the rented vehicle is the same make and model of a car identified in connection with the shooting of the MIT professor, the official said.
Authorities have not publicly identified a suspect in either case, the Times also said.
Blaze News reported that MIT professor Nuno Loureiro was fatally shot in his Brookline, Massachusetts, home Monday night and died in a hospital early Tuesday.
Brookline — a Boston suburb that's less than a half hour from MIT — is about 90 minutes northeast of Providence, Rhode Island, where Brown University is located.
The FBI had told the AP it knew of no connection between the deadly shooting at Brown and the fatal shooting of Loureiro. However, WPRI-TV reported that multiple people familiar with the investigation said they discovered evidence showing the two crimes may be linked.
WBZ-TV said in its video report that Loureiro, 47, was shot several times in the foyer of his home; a neighbor said he lived in a first-floor apartment.
A reporter suggested to the neighbor on camera that the crime is atypical for Brookline, and the neighbor replied that it was a "surprise ... and a shooting in a state where it's so hard to even have a gun?" The neighbor also said fellow neighbors noted a nearby car was "parked in the wrong direction" and "seemed to be waiting."
The Jerusalem Post reported that Loureiro was Jewish and a vocal pro-Israel nuclear scientist. However, the Post added that it could not confirm speculations by Jewish organizations that Loureiro was targeted for his political affiliations.
Blaze News earlier Thursday reported that Providence police said the Brown University suspected shooter's DNA had been gathered and that images and video of a person of interest match eyewitness descriptions.
A person of interest was initially detained over the weekend before law enforcement determined they had the wrong guy.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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The DNA of the Brown University suspected shooter has been gathered, and images and video of the person of interest in Saturday's deadly shooting at the Rhode Island Ivy League college match eyewitness descriptions, police told the Providence Journal.
Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez said law enforcement has DNA of the suspected shooter "from inside" that could be used to confirm his presence at the scene once officials have someone to compare it to, the Journal reported.
'All video imagery has been turned over to law enforcement.'
The shooting took place in a first-floor classroom in the school's Barus and Holley building, which houses the School of Engineering and the physics department. Two students were fatally shot; nine others were wounded.
Attorney General Peter Neronha added to the Journal that DNA is "powerful" evidence because it can confirm the identity of a subject or rule people in or out after it's entered into a nationwide system.
RELATED: At least 2 killed, more wounded in shooting at Brown University
Perez also told the paper that witnesses and surviving students gave a description of the shooter that matches the person of interest as seen on video and in still images that law enforcement has distributed.
Neronha told the Journal that investigators are being protective of what witnesses have said about the shooter or the shooting so they can protect witnesses from being swayed by outside information.
"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 during a news conference, according to the paper. "We don't want a person of interest to shape what they're telling us. ... So we're being careful about the facts that we're sharing for that reason, so that when we talk to witnesses, what we're getting is their factual recitation."
More from the Journal:
Authorities have struggled to convince members of the public that, despite Brown University's vast resources, there was no camera working in the Barus & Holley Building that captured the shooter entering the building before opening fire.
Brown Provost Francis Doyle III said the school has 1,200 cameras on campus, including some in the old section of the building where the shooting occurred. But that does not mean the cameras captured an image of the shooter.
"All video imagery has been turned over to law enforcement," Doyle added, according to the paper.
A person of interest was initially detained over the weekend before law enforcement determined they had the wrong guy.
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Hollywood icon Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead in their Brentwood, California, home Sunday in what police are calling a homicide, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Law enforcement sources told the paper that a family member was being interviewed in connection with the deaths.
'No one has been detained; no one is being questioned as a suspect.'
A spokesperson for the Reiner family confirmed the deaths Sunday evening, the Times said: “It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner. We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”
A source not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation but who reportedly has knowledge of it confirmed that there was no sign of forced entry into the home in the 200 block of Chadbourne Avenue, the Times reported. The source also told the paper that the Reiners had injuries consistent with a stabbing.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said Sunday that detectives were working to secure a search warrant before launching a "thorough" investigation inside and outside the home, the Times said.
"At this time, the Los Angeles Police Department is not seeking anyone as a suspect or as a person of interest ... and we will not be doing that until we conduct our investigation and move forward," Hamilton said, according to the paper. He said many family members would be interviewed but that "no one has been detained; no one is being questioned as a suspect," the Times added.
Hamilton confirmed that the person who initially reported the incident was at the house, but that person's identity wasn't being released at this time, the paper said.
Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department told the Times that the department was called to the Reiner home around 3:30 p.m. for medical aid, and the two bodies were found in the home.
Reiner was first famous for his portrayal of Michael “Meathead” Stivic on the legendary 1970s sitcom "All in the Family," which also starred Carroll O’Connor as Archie Bunker.
He then gained wide acclaim over the years for directing movies such as “When Harry Met Sally,” “The Princess Bride,” “This Is Spinal Tap,” “Stand by Me," and “A Few Good Men."
Reiner also was not quiet about his far-left politics, and he often railed against President Donald Trump and Republicans.
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A person of interest has been detained in connection with Saturday's deadly shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, the Associated Press reported.
However, the outlet added that "key questions remained unanswered" following the attack that killed two students and wounded nine others at the Ivy League campus during final exams.
'Everybody’s reeling, and we have a lot of recovery ahead of us.'
Col. Oscar Perez, chief of the Providence police, said Sunday afternoon that the person in custody is in the 20s age range and that no one has been charged yet, the AP reported. Perez earlier said the person is in the 30s age range and that no one else was being sought; Perez declined to say if the detained person had any connection to Brown, the outlet noted.
The New York Times reported Saturday that the shooter was described as a man dressed in black. Police released surveillance video late Saturday night that they said showed the person of interest. The AP said the individual in the clip was walking from the scene of the shooting.
RELATED: At least 2 killed, more wounded in shooting at Brown University
The person of interest was taken into custody at a Hampton Inn hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island, which is about 20 miles from Providence, the AP said, adding that police officers and FBI agents remained there Sunday, blocking off a hallway with crime scene tape while searching the area.
College President Christina Paxson told the AP that one of the nine wounded students had been released from the hospital while seven others were in critical but stable condition and one was in critical condition.
Investigators told the AP they weren't immediately sure how the shooter got into the first-floor classroom in the Barus & Holley building, a seven-story complex that houses the School of Engineering and the physics department.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said the building's outer doors were unlocked, but rooms reserved for final exams required badge access, the AP added.
More from the AP:
The gunman opened fire inside a classroom in the engineering building, firing more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. As of Sunday morning, authorities had not recovered a firearm but did find two loaded 30-round magazines, the official said. The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity.
Brown canceled all remaining classes, exams, papers, and projects for the semester, the AP said, and told students they were free to leave campus.
Paxson teared up while describing her conversations with students both on campus and in the hospital, the AP said: “They are amazing, and they’re supporting each other. There’s just a lot of gratitude.”
“Everybody’s reeling, and we have a lot of recovery ahead of us,” she added, according to the AP. “Our community’s strong and we’ll get through it, but it’s devastating.”
This is a developing story; updates may be added.
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At least two are dead and others were wounded after a shooting Saturday at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, the New York Times reported.
An active shooter was reported just after 4:30 p.m. near the Barus and Holley engineering building on Hope Street, officials at the Ivy League college said, according to Fox News. Police were still searching for the shooter, who was described as a man dressed in black, the Times said.
'It is imperative that all members of our community remain sheltered in place.'
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley told CNN that the doors of the engineering building where the shooting took place were unlocked since numerous final exams were being held there, according to the Times: "Based on what we heard from officials at Brown, anybody could have accessed the building at that time."
Providence Fire Chief Derek Silva told the Times that two of the shooting victims were found dead at the scene.
Eight other shooting victims were being treated at Rhode Island Hospital, a spokeswoman told the Times, adding that six were in critical but stable condition, one was in critical condition, and another was in stable condition.
However, Smiley later announced that a ninth injured victim was identified, the Times said in a subsequent update, and that victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries from “fragments” related to the gunfire.
Smiley declined to provide any information about the victims, including whether they were Brown students, the Times said.
Brown University officials said just before 8:30 p.m. that the “campus continues to be in lockdown, and it is imperative that all members of our community remain sheltered in place," the Times added.
Providence Deputy Police Chief Timothy O’Hara said police believe they are looking for a single gunman, the Times also said, adding that no weapon had been recovered and officials did not know what type of gun was used.
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee (D) said he spoke to FBI Director Kash Patel and that local, state, and federal officers were all searching for the gunman, the Times reported: “Everyone is working under the same goal right now — to keep everybody in that area safe and also to pursue” the attacker, McKee added to the paper.
This is a developing story; updates may be added.
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An Atlanta homeowner shot two juveniles who were taking packages from his porch Thursday afternoon, police said.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum told WXIA-TV that officers responded around 3:30 p.m. to the 800 block of Celeste Lane in the Mays neighborhood, which is part of the Villages of Cascade complex, after reports of shots fired. The townhomes are down the street from a high school, the station said.
'At that exact moment, was he realistically and reasonably under an apparent threat?'
WXIA said a 15-year-old was shot in the foot while a second juvenile was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Police told the station late Thursday night that he made it through surgery and is expected to survive. WXIA said in its video report that the second juvenile was shot in the arm.
Schierbaum told the station that investigators determined the two juveniles were taking packages from a townhome when the homeowner came outside and opened fire.
The homeowner was taken to police headquarters for questioning, WXIA said, and officers executed a search warrant at the residence as part of the ongoing investigation.
“That search warrant is allowing us to gather evidence, is allowing us to gain clarity,” Schierbaum added to the station.
The chief also noted to WXIA: “The Atlanta Police Department takes gun violence very seriously. It's been the charge of Mayor [Andre] Dickens to address gun violence in our city; that's why you see a robust response. But anytime a child is injured in our city, we really take that seriously. And we want to make sure we know what’s happening as individuals being held accountable."
RELATED: Texas homeowner shoots and kills man trying to steal his car, police say
The station added that the shooting is stirring debate over the use of deadly force to protect property.
Atlanta criminal defense attorney Joshua Schiffer, who is not affiliated with the case, told WXIA that people in Georgia have the right to protect themselves and their property, but deadly force must be justified.
“Were these two young men on the doorstep acting in a violent or threatening manner, or were they running away? What juncture did the homeowner decide to discharge their personal weapon using deadly force, and were they justified? That’s going to depend on the facts,” Schiffer told the station. “At that exact moment, was he realistically and reasonably under an apparent threat?”
Police added to WXIA that charges, if any, will depend on evidence and witness statements gathered as part of its investigation.
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A 26-year-old South Carolina mother was arrested Monday morning after being accused of a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old boy in a vehicle while her three children were present, WBTW-TV reported.
Lake City Police charged Aladrian Chandler with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, the station said.
'Disgusting. ... And to do it with your children in the vehicle and take away their innocence?!?!'
Chandler acknowledged a sexual encounter, WBTW said, citing a police report — but she denied having intercourse and said she believed the boy was older than he told her.
The station said the report indicates the boy told officers that he and Chandler met while she was delivering food, and they exchanged phone numbers and began texting each other. The alleged incident occurred Nov. 16, WBTW reported.
Police began investigating two days after the alleged incident after Chandler reported that a gun had been stolen from her vehicle, the station said.
The report added that during the investigation, Chandler gave police a written statement saying the boy took the gun out of her car when she went to a friend’s house to talk about how the boy had been talking to her, WBTW reported.
Florence County Detention Center records indicate Chandler remained behind bars Wednesday morning on no bond.
RELATED: Mother chaperoned junior high dance — then had a baby with her daughter's teen date: Court docs
A number of commenters under WBTW's Facebook post about the incident were taken aback by the accusations against the mother of three:
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