On Dec. 13, 2025, Brown University in Providence, R.I., suffered a mass shooting that took the lives of two individuals and left nine others in critical condition. At 4:22 p.m, students received alerts on their phones claiming there was an active shooter and were instructed to shelter in place, take cover or evacuate if possible. Students spent the night hiding in classrooms, libraries, lecture halls and dorm rooms with the fear of encountering the shooter.
The two students who were victims in the brown shooting were identified as Ella Cook and Mukhammed Aziz Umurzokov. Cook, a sophomore, was the vice president of Brown College Republicans. She was described as passionate, friendly and a bright light by her fellow classmates and was helping out in her community as well as her church.Umurzoov was known for being disciplined, driven and motivated. His dream was to help people by becoming a surgeon and saving lives.
After a six day search, State and Federal authorities identified the shooter as 49-year-old Claudio Manuel Neves Valente. His vehicle was located outside of his storage unit in Salem, NH, 84 miles away from Brown. Later, investigations found him dead inside, with a self inflicted gun shot. Valente attended Brown for three semesters between 2000 and 2001, but did not graduate with a diploma. Valente withdrew from the Ivy League University in 2003. He primarily took classes in the same building he fired gunshots. An Anonymous individual claimed he was sophisticated at hiding his tracks. It is believed he used an untraceable phone as well as avoiding using credit cards under his name.
Investigators believe that Valente could be connected to the death of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor, Nuno Loureiro. Loureiro, 47-year-old, was found dead in his home in Brookline, Mass. on Dec. 16. He was found with a wound from a gunshot. Officials believe Valente was the person who killed Loureiro as they attended the same academic program in Portugal between 1995 and 2000. The two majored in Biology and Science. Valente was seen on security footage a half-mile away from Loureiro’s home. The individual who was falsely arrested for being the shooter, Benjamin Erickson, claimed to the police Valente was after him and led them to figure out where Valente was located.
After almost a week of authorities searching for Valente, they found the victim for those whose lives were taken and their suffering families. Brown is holding a monument for Cook and Umurzokov at the Van Wickle Gates. Varieties of flowers, candles and notecards were placed outside the University’s opening gates Many students and community members have stopped by the memorial to pay respect to those whose lives were lost. The two students and the professor will be deeply missed by their community, school and family.
