# 12/13/25: Shooting near Brown University in Providence, RI **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [December 13, 2025, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677 "2025-12-13T22:57:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/61 "2025-12-19T04:19:00Z")
There were so many Portuguese in SE Massachusetts and RI that my students used to write “none” for their ethnicity on forms because almost everyone they knew was Portuguese. Oh, sure, there were some Italians and Cape Verdeans around, but everyone they interacted with regularly was Portuguese. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/62 "2025-12-19T04:33:15Z")
Remember that guy the authorities were seeking, the one they thought could provide info on their suspect? Whose photo they introduced at a press conference? Turns out he was a big part of cracking the case, [according to this Boston Globe update at 10:35:](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/18/metro/brown-shooting-investigation-live-updates/#reddit_poster_credited_with_helping_law_enforcement) > A Reddit poster, only identified as “John,” is credited with helping the Providence police and federal investigators “blow the case wide open,” said Attorney General Peter F. Neronha at a press conference Thursday night. > > “John” was the man whose photo police released on Wednesday, asking the public for help identifying him because the person of interest appeared to veer away from him in an encounter on a street near the University. They didn’t realize that “John” had already posted on Reddit on Tuesday saying that the police should look into a man with a grey Nissan with Florida plates. In his post, “John” said the man was acting suspiciously, according to an affidavit supporting Rhode Island’s arrest warrant for Claudio Manuel Neves Valente. > > “John” came forward “within an hour” of police asking for his help, Neronha said, saying his testimony was credible and persuasive when he was interviewed by police. “John” said he encountered the suspect in the bathroom of the Barus and Holley building on Saturday, around 1:45 pm, wearing clothes that were wrong for the weather. John said he followed the suspect out of the building to the Nissan, where he saw two fanny packs on the car’s rear floor. He described how he and the suspect played a “cat and mouse” game, walking back and forth on the street, and “John” asked him why he kept circling the block. The suspect responded, “Why are you harassing me?” > > The encounter was long enough for “John” to get a description of the car and the suspect. Also, see this Reddit post: [Reddit - The heart of the internet](https://www.reddit.com/r/bestof/comments/1pqatux/redditor_notices_suspicious_person_with_rental/) ETA: Apparently the guy whose photo the police relased was another witness, and there was another redditor I just linked to who gave valuable information. [[link]](https://www.reddit.com/r/providence/comments/1pphgfz/fyi/) > The following is all I will say regarding the matter. This evening I spoke to Providence Police, the Rhode Island State Police and I imagine the FBI were listening in another room. They know who I am. I am not the individual posted in the recent round of photos. I wish that individual Godspeed and if they have yet to come forward I strongly encourage them to do so. All the law enforcement personnel that I interacted with today were extremely professional and worked hard to really put me at ease. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/63 "2025-12-19T04:39:01Z")
I’m torn. On the one hand, “John” seems to have been really helpful to authorities. On the other, “John” seems kind of like a nosey jerk. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/64 "2025-12-19T13:13:15Z")
Speaking as a nosey jerk, I’m glad “John” was able to help solve this case. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/65 "2025-12-19T13:25:15Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > I’m torn. On the one hand, “John” seems to have been really helpful to authorities. On the other, “John” seems kind of like a nosey jerk. Also, his first instinct was to post on Reddit rather than call the police. John likes attention. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/66 "2025-12-19T13:45:07Z")
Yeah, for every time “John” helps ID a shooter, “John” gets someone tased (or worse) because they don’t like to look of someone doing nothing wrong. I like to take a walk at lunch, as part of staying healthy. I had a Dr. appt right after lunch a couple of weeks ago, and arrived about 20 minutes early since traffic was unusually light. The office building has the offices in a big square around an atrium, so I did a few walking laps before the appointment. And sure enough, someone asked why I kept walking by. I said I was just trying to get some steps in, and that was that. But then, I’m a middle aged white male. Just sayin’ ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/67 "2025-12-19T13:57:23Z")
He goes to the trouble of following and confronting someone because they’re acting suspicious and then a couple of hours later, there is a shooting on campus and he doesn’t go to the police, but posts on Reddit. Checking my notes, he waits four days to contact the police. From NYTimes: Three days after the deadly shooting at Brown University, officers received an anonymous tip that stuck out from a flood of information. It directed the authorities to a post on Reddit. “I’m being dead serious. The police need to look into a grey Nissan with Florida plates, possibly a rental,” the Reddit user posted, according to an affidavit filed by the police in Providence, R.I. … A day after the Reddit post was made, the writer approached law enforcement officials and told them about his encounter with a suspicious man in Brown University’s Barus and Holley building. [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/us/brown-mit-shooting-investigation-reddit.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/us/brown-mit-shooting-investigation-reddit.html) ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/68 "2025-12-19T14:03:47Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I also have a strong feeling that the person died by their own hand shortly afterwards. Time will tell. Have the police said anything about how long the guy had been dead before he was found? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/69 "2025-12-19T14:39:44Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > He goes to the trouble of following and confronting someone because they’re acting suspicious and then a couple of hours later, there is a shooting on campus and he doesn’t go to the police, but posts on Reddit. Checking my notes, he waits four days to contact the police. Yeah, that’s weird, at best. But if what he posted is what’s said above, “the police need to look at …” it suggests he’s really clueless, and doesn’t understand that one can contact the police directly. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/70 "2025-12-19T14:50:17Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > But if what he posted is what’s said above, “the police need to look at …” it suggests he’s really clueless, and doesn’t understand that one can contact the police directly. If he is _that_ stupid, he probably shouldn’t be on Reddit unsupervised. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/71 "2025-12-19T15:04:16Z")
Lots of people probably shouldn’t be on Reddit, unsupervised. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/72 "2025-12-19T16:01:24Z")
The NYT says he “approached the authorities” a day after he posted on Reddit. I’m going with, “it didn’t occur to him that he could do that at first”. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/73 "2025-12-19T20:22:26Z")
So the FBI struggles for days to find a shooter in two university shootings, then suddenly they point the finger at a dead brown immigrant. And the winning tip came from some rando on Reddit? Seems legit. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/74 "2025-12-19T20:51:46Z")
He’s Portuguese. I think most Portuguese look “white”. And it’s not just the FBI. Rhode Island and Massachusetts Police agree. And the dead guy has ties to both the murdered professor and the location where the students were shot. It does seem pretty legit to me. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/75 "2025-12-19T21:00:09Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > He’s Portuguese. I think most Portuguese look “white”. Probably why, instead of the usual knee jerk reaction of “pause all immigration from country/region X”, this time they went with “pause all diversity visa processing.” Bonus points because it has the D-word in it. [https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-homeland-security-orders-pause-dv1-visa-program-2025-12-19/](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-homeland-security-orders-pause-dv1-visa-program-2025-12-19/) ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/76 "2025-12-19T23:49:51Z")
I’ve read that the tipster is homeless, which possibly complicates coming forward in person. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2025, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/77 "2025-12-20T01:06:20Z")
I heard the same on the radio. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2025, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/78 "2025-12-20T01:16:28Z")
Interesting story. The reward could give John a fresh start. Find an apartment and get off the street. > **[How a Reddit tipster cracked the Brown University shooting case](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg9l1j9wxno)** > > "He blew this case right open," one official said after the suspect was found dead on Thursday. "When you crack it, you crack it." > [@](#): > > It is also not clear whether “John” will receive the $50,000 reward offered by officials for information, although FBI Agent Ted Docks was asked whether it was possible at a news conference on Thursday. > > “It would be logical to think that, absolutely,” he said. "That individual would be entitled to that. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2025, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/79 "2025-12-20T16:41:15Z")
> Twenty-five years ago, two promising physicists graduated from a prestigious science university in Lisbon. On Monday, one gunned the other down at his home outside Boston after firing on a classroom of [Brown University undergrads](https://www.wsj.com/us-news/ella-cook-mukhammad-aziz-umurzokov-brown-shooting-f8ed40be?mod=article_inline), authorities say. > > Claudio Neves Valente, the suspected shooter, once had a bright future. He graduated at the top of his college class, ahead of classmate Nuno Loureiro. But by the time Neves Valente confronted Loureiro at his Brookline, Mass., apartment building this past week, Loureiro’s career had soared while Neves Valente’s withered. > > Loureiro was an acclaimed nuclear scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, leading one of its largest labs. Neves Valente had been living in an unassuming home in Miami, far from the academic grandeur for which he’d once seemed destined. **Two Young Physicists Seemed Destined for Greatness. Two Decades Later, One Shot the Other Dead.** Claudio Neves Valente, the suspect in the Brown and MIT shootings, had flashes of temper; former classmates describe him as confrontational and socially awkward [https://www.wsj.com/us-news/claudio-neves-valente-brown-mit-shooter-nuno-loureiro-efd84bd3](https://www.wsj.com/us-news/claudio-neves-valente-brown-mit-shooter-nuno-loureiro-efd84bd3) MSN unpaywalled repost: > **[MSN](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careers/two-young-physicists-seemed-destined-for-greatness-two-decades-later-one-shot-the-other-dead/ar-AA1SHEv8)** ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2025, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677/80 "2025-12-20T17:17:37Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I’ve read that the tipster is homeless, which possibly complicates coming forward in person. Homeless people wandering the streets do not always have the best impression of the police. And vice versa. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-13-25-shooting-near-brown-university-in-providence-ri/1025677.md?page=5)