A respected professor from MIT, known globally for his expertise in nuclear science, tragically lost his life in what may be an assassination carried out by an Iranian agent, as suggested by Israeli officials. Nuno F.G. Loureiro, a 47-year-old father of three, was fatally shot in his Brookline home, a tranquil suburb of Boston, at around 8:30 PM on Monday. The assailant remains unidentified and at large. Loureiro, who was a vocal supporter of Israel—one of Iran’s fiercest adversaries—was distinguished for his work in nuclear science, engineering, and physics. According to the Jerusalem Post, Israeli authorities believe that Iranian operatives may have specifically targeted Loureiro, a leading figure in nuclear fusion research.

At this moment, there is no additional information to substantiate this theory from U.S. investigative or law enforcement agencies. The murder occurs amid escalating tensions over Iran’s nuclear endeavors, which have become a flashpoint this year. Accusations from Israel that Iran is covertly expanding its nuclear capabilities in breach of international treaties led to President Trump authorizing military action against Iranian nuclear sites in August. Loureiro was at the forefront of global research in energy and nuclear physics, advancing technology that could shape the future.

Loureiro was celebrated for his brilliance and leadership as the director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, which houses over 250 full-time researchers. He assumed this position last year following a distinguished academic journey that included degrees from Imperial College London and Princeton. His untimely death followed closely on the heels of a shooting at Brown University in Providence, where two students were killed—just 50 miles south of Loureiro’s residence. Although the FBI has dismissed any connection between the incident at Brown University and Loureiro’s murder in Massachusetts, the fact that both shooters remain unidentified has left local communities feeling uneasy and concerned for their safety.

No arrests have been made in connection with either shooting. ‘This is an active and ongoing homicide investigation,’ the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office said of Loureiro’s death. ‘No further information is being released at this time.’ Loureiro’s neighbor and friend, Louise Cohen, said she discovered his body after hearing shots disturb the peace of their beautiful area on Gibbs Street. Cohen said she was lighting a menorah candle when she heard gunshots fired. She rushed to the hallway of their building and found Loureiro lying on his back. The professor’s heartbroken wife was also in the entry along with another neighbor, and they scrambled to dial 911. Loureiro was taken to hospital but died the next day. ‘I can’t sleep now,’ Cohen told the Boston Globe. ‘This family is so amazing. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to kill him… Should we be afraid now?’

Cohen uses a walking stick and she said Loureiro’s family often helps her carry her groceries up the stairs to her unit, which is located directly above theirs. Another neighbor of Loureiro’s, Anne Greenwald, asked people to light candles in his memory on Tuesday evening. She said residents are worried. ‘There is too much violence going on,’ Greenwald told the Globe. ‘This is obviously very close to home.’ Other residents remembered Loureiro as a kind-hearted, ‘wonderful man’, while students flocked to the candle-lit vigil in his memory. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology paid tribute to him as, ‘a lauded theoretical physicist and fusion scientist’. Loureiro specialized in nuclear science, engineering and physics. He leaves behind ‘many devoted students, friends, and colleagues’, according to his MIT obituary.

His academic career started at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal, where he gained a physics degree. Loureiro obtained a doctorate in physics from Imperial College London in 2005, before starting post-doctoral work at Princeton later that year. He also worked at the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s Culham Centre for Fusion Energy between 2007 and 2009. MIT President Sally Kornbluth acknowledged that the beloved professor died in the wake of the Brown University shooting just two days before.

‘This shocking loss for our community comes in a period of disturbing violence in many other places,’ she said in a statement. ‘It’s entirely natural to feel the need for comfort and support. If you or anyone you know would like counsel or just a listening ear, I encourage you to make use of our many campus resources. ‘In time, the many communities Nuno belonged to will create opportunities to mourn his loss and celebrate his life.’