FBI, US Attorney Release Findings On MIT Professor's Killing After Extensive Investigation

BROOKLINE, MA — The Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States District Attorney’s Office released findings Thursday following an extensive investigation into the case of Claudio Neves Valente, who is responsible for the killing of MIT Nuno Lourerio as well as the mass shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island that that killed two students and critically injured nine others.

“The FBI has worked closely with its law enforcement partners across the United States and around the world on a coordinated and comprehensive investigation,” The FBI said in a statement. “After recovering more than 112 pieces of evidence, running down more than 490 leads, combing through more than 11,000 files of surveillance footage, analyzing 815 videos and 1,327 audio files found on the shooter’s electronic devices, and conducting more than 260 interviews, the investigative team has reached the following conclusions.”

Officials say Loureiro and Valente knew each other, but the extent of their relationship isn't clear: Both studied physics at Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal at the same time more than 25 years ago. Neves Valente was terminated from a job he held at IST in 2000. Despite the known connection between the two, the FBI said Valente’s victims were ultimately symbolic in nature.

“Dr. Loureiro represented to the shooter his personal failures and injustices he perceived were inflicted by others over time,’ the FBI said. “By attacking them, Neves Valente was likely able to overcome his shame and envy by using violence to punish those communities that he perceived contributed to his downfall.”

The FBI also asserted that Neves Valente had planned his crimes multiple years in advance, and one piece of evidence heavily suggests that to be true. The Glock 26 9 mm handgun used to kill Lourerio was purchased in March 2022, and Neves Valente stores that as well as the weapon he used at Brown University in his unit at an Extra Space Storage location in Salem, New Hampshire.

“Neves Valente’s transient lifestyle, long-term planning, and social isolation provided little to no opportunity for bystanders to observe and contextualize the significance of his behaviors,” The FBI said in a statement. “The shooter lacked traditional support, such as family, peers, and authority figures, who would have been able to observe any potential warning signs and contact law enforcement.”

On Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, Loureiro’s 12-year-old daughter heard the doorbell ring at their Brookline apartment on Gibbs Street at approximately 8:30 p.m. and saw someone standing at the door of the shared first-floor foyer space with a package. She then returned to her unit to tell her father, who went to answer the door himself. She then heard between four and six gunshots and rushed back to find her father lying on the ground with multiple bullet wounds. He was also found by his neighbor, Louise Cohen. Loureiro was rushed to Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, where he later died from his injuries the next morning.

Lourerio was a decorated professor of nuclear science and engineering. He first came to MIT in January 2016 as an assistant professor in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering before becoming a full-time teacher in 2021. In 2024, he was named the director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, one of the university’s largest and most prominent labs. He is survived by his wife, Ines, and their three children.

“It is important to note that only Neves Valente knew the real reason why he committed these heinous acts,” the FBI said. “However, at this time, the FBI is confident, based on the evidence collected, the shooter’s own writings and recordings, and interviews with those who knew him best, that the assessment is accurate.”

See Also:

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Who Was Nuno Loureiro? MIT Professor Killed At His Brookline Home

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