A week-long manhunt for the man who opened fire on a university classroom, killing two students and wounding nine, has ended with the suspect found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The man, identified as 48-year-old Claudio Neves Valente, was also the primary suspect in the murder of a renowned professor from a different elite university, creating a tragic link between two of America's top academic institutions.

This series of violent events raises urgent questions about the safety of students on campuses, a concern deeply felt by many Kenyan families whose children are studying abroad. The incident underscores the devastating impact of gun violence, turning centres of learning into scenes of tragedy.

Authorities tracked Valente, a Portuguese national, to a storage facility in New Hampshire on Thursday evening. Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez announced at a press conference, “He took his own life tonight.” Inside the unit, investigators found Valente with two firearms and evidence they noted “matches exactly what we see at the scene here in Providence.”

A Trail of Violence

The investigation connected two separate, shocking crimes. On Saturday, December 13th, a gunman entered a lecture hall at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, during final exams and opened fire. Two days later, Professor Nuno Loureiro, a 47-year-old physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), was shot and killed at his home nearly 80 kilometres away.

Investigators now believe Valente was responsible for both attacks. U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, Leah Foley, stated that Valente and Professor Loureiro, both originally from Portugal, had attended the same academic program in Lisbon between 1995 and 2000. This prior connection is a key focus for detectives trying to understand the motive, which remains a mystery. “I don't think we have any idea why now, or why Brown, or why these students,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha admitted.

The Suspect's Past

Claudio Neves Valente was no stranger to the building where the first attack occurred. Brown University President Christina Paxson confirmed he had been a graduate student in the physics department from 2000 to 2001. He had arrived in the United States on a student visa and later obtained lawful permanent residency in 2017 through the Diversity Immigrant Visa program, commonly known as the green card lottery. This detail brings a sobering perspective to a system that represents hope and opportunity for many Kenyans seeking to build a future abroad.

The manhunt involved local, state, and federal law enforcement, who pieced together Valente's movements using rental car records and surveillance footage. A critical tip from a member of the public ultimately “blew this case right open,” Neronha acknowledged, leading authorities to the suspect.

• **Victims:** Two students, Ella Cook, 19, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, were killed at Brown University.
• **Injured:** Nine other individuals were wounded in the university shooting.
• **Second Victim:** Professor Nuno Loureiro, a celebrated physicist at MIT.
• **Reward:** The FBI had offered a $50,000 (approx. KES 6.4 million) reward for information leading to an arrest.

While the search for the perpetrator is over, the investigation into his motives is not. For the communities at Brown and MIT, and for families with students far from home, the healing process is only just beginning. As Attorney General Neronha remarked, “While we'll never be able to prosecute this individual, I hope this result begins to provide some small measure of closure for the victims and their families.”