Motive Remains Biggest Question In MIT Professor Shooting: Report

BROOKLINE, MA — Authorities are still working to determine a motivation behind the Dec. 15 killing of MIT Professor Nuno Loureiro.

United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah Foley said the killer, Claudio Neves Valente, left no note or manifest explaining his reasoning for the act or the Brown University shooting, according to a report from Boston 25 News.

Former Boston Police Chief Dan Linskey said that Valente's technological devices and vehicle are the best lead in discovering more about him and his potential rationale.

In addition, the FBI is looking to talk with people who interacted with Valente leading up to the incidents.

Valente, 48, gunned down Loureiro at his home in Brookline on Monday, authorities said. Two days before that, on Saturday, he entered an on-campus building at Brown University where students were taking exams and killed two students, Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook. Officials didn't immediately announce a link between the two incidents but as the investigation unfolded, authorities traced the suspect to the New Hampshire storage unit on Thursday, Dec. 18.

After a multi-day search for a suspect in both cases, Valente was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a unit at Extra Space Storage on 10 Hampshire Road by an FBI Swat Team at approximately 9 p.m. Thursday. Two firearms and a satchel were also discovered along with the body.

His car was observed multiple times in the vicinity of Brown University before the shooting on Saturday, according to authorities.

Officials say the pair knew each other but the extent of their relationship isn't clear: Valente and Loureiro both studied physics at Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal at the same time more than 25 years ago.

“Previously, he attended the same academic program as the MIT Professor in Portugal between 1995 and 2000,” Foley said. "My understanding is that they did know each other."

Valente was terminated from a position at Instituto Superior Técnico in 2000.

According to Foley, surveillance footage showed Valente entering an apartment building within one half-mile of Loureiro’s Brookline home on the night of the professor’s murder. That same night, he was captured on camera entering the storage facility wearing the same clothing as seen in the previous video.

Read more at Boston 25 News.

See Also:

Who Was Nuno Loureiro?

More Than $300K Raised For Family Of MIT Professor Killed In Shooting

MIT Working To Support Community In Aftermath Of Professor's Murder

Mass Shooter Eyed Suspect In MIT Prof's Slaying Dead By Suicide

MIT Professor Killed In Brookline Home