Brown University shooting suspect found dead

The suspect in last week's mass shooting at Brown University was found dead in a warehouse in Salem, New Hampshire, after a six-day, multi-state manhunt, police said.

They identified the suspect as 48-year-old Claudio Neves Valente, a Portuguese national who attended university in Providence, Rhode Island, about 25 years ago.

Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said video evidence and tips from the public led investigators to the car rental location, where they found the suspect's name and matched it to a person of interest.

Officials said they believe Valente killed the MIT professor two days after the Dec. 13 shooting at Brown.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter said Valente was found dead with a bag and two firearms. Evidence in a car nearby matches the scene of the shooting at Brown University in Providence.

Initial reports indicate Valente died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and police were unable to comment on how long he may have been inside the vault.

“Even though the suspect was found dead this evening, our work is not over. There are many questions that need to be answered,” said FBI Chief Special Agent in Charge Ted Dox, adding that the agency has deployed about 500 agents to assist local authorities in the investigation.

Brown University President Christina Paxson said Valente was enrolled at the Ivy League school from fall 2000 to spring 2001 and was pursuing a PhD in physics.

He currently has “no active involvement” with Brown, she said.

Officials said they believe Valente shot and killed MIT professor Nuno F. Gomes Loureiro, 47, on Monday at his home in Brooklyn, which is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Providence.

According to police, both the victim and suspect attended the same university in Portugal in the late 1990s.

Officials said the cases were linked when the suspect's vehicle was identified through surveillance footage and a witness at Brown University.

The same car was spotted near the scene of the professor's shooting in Brookline, Massachusetts.

“He was using a phone that couldn't be tracked,” said Leah B. Foley, the U.S. attorney representing Massachusetts.

“He was good at hiding his tracks.”

Authorities have not provided any suspected motive for either attack.

For days, members of the public have expressed frustration with the investigation into last Saturday's shooting at Brown University after it appeared to have yielded no results nearly a week after the attack.

A gunman broke into Brown University's Barus and Holly engineering building and opened fire during final exams.

Two students were killed and nine others were injured. Six remain in hospital.

Authorities identified the two dead as Ella Cook, 19, a sophomore from Alabama, and Muhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, an Uzbek-American freshman.

Police asked Rhode Islanders to be patient and on Wednesday released new footage of a person of interest, showing a man walking around the university campus with a black mask covering his mouth.

The FBI also offered a $50,000 (£37,350) reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the attack.