Authorities have suggested a possible connection between the tragic incident at Brown University, where two students lost their lives, and the subsequent shooting of a senior MIT professor. The two events, occurring just days apart, are currently under investigation.
Detectives are delving into the possibility that the same individual may be responsible for both shootings. To aid in the investigation, police have released CCTV footage of a potential suspect and expanded their search efforts to include Salem, New Hampshire, located approximately 85 miles from Brown University, as the suspect remains at large with no arrests made yet.
The violent episode unfolded when an unidentified shooter entered the School of Engineering at the prestigious Ivy League institution in Providence, Rhode Island. The incident took place shortly after 4 PM on a Saturday, during a study session.
The assailant stormed into the Barus and Holley Building, unleashing about 40 bullets. This devastating attack claimed the lives of Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov from Virginia and Ella Cook from Alabama, while also injuring 12 others, before the gunman managed to escape.
Despite an intensive police operation underway, authorities have yet to apprehend the shooter, leaving the community on edge.
Despite a major police operation, investigators have so far failed to track the shooter down.
Now, detectives are examining whether the attack could be linked to the fatal shooting of Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro, who was gunned down inside his home in Brookline, near Boston, around 8.30pm on Monday evening – roughly 50 miles from the Brown campus.
Law enforcement sources say the suspected Brown shooter rented a vehicle that was later found near the scene of Professor Loureiro’s killing.
The Brown University shooting which killed two students and the assassination of an MIT professor two days later may be connected, police have said. (Pictured: Victim Ella Cook)
Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov (pictured left), the second Brown University victim killed on Saturday, has been remembered by his roommate as an aspiring neurosurgeon and ‘ball of joy’
The car was the same make and model as one identified in connection with the MIT professor’s death, according to CBS News.
Anonymous police sources told NBC10 that investigators made the potential link after tracing an overdue rental car believed to be connected to both shootings – a development described by local outlet WPRI as a ‘new break in the case’.
FBI agent Ted Docks said earlier this week that ‘there seems to be no connection’ between the two attacks, but investigators later confirmed they are actively exploring whether the incidents are linked.
The manhunt has now moved to Salem, New Hampshire, around 85 miles north of Brown University, where police are searching for the unnamed suspect.
Authorities have released grainy CCTV footage showing a shadowy figure dressed in dark clothing and are appealing to the public for help identifying him.
A person of interest was detained at a Hampton Inn in Coventry, Rhode Island, the day after the Brown shooting, but was later released without charge.
No arrests have been made and no suspect has been publicly named.
Professor Loureiro, 47, was a married father of three and the recently appointed director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, which employs more than 250 researchers.
Married father-of-three Nuno F.G. Loureiro (pictured), 47, was gunned down at his home in a leafy Boston suburb at 8.30pm by an unknown shooter who is still on the loose
A neighbour, Louise Cohen, said she discovered his body after hearing gunshots ring out in their normally quiet street.
She told police she had been lighting a menorah candle when she heard the shots, before rushing into the hallway and finding Loureiro lying on his back.
Loureiro’s wife and another neighbour were also present as they dialled 911. Loureiro was taken to hospital but died the following day.
Loureiro’s neighbors remembered him as a kind-hearted, ‘wonderful man’, while students flocked to the candle-lit vigil in his memory.
MIT paid tribute to Loureiro as a ‘lauded theoretical physicist and fusion scientist’, noting that he earned his doctorate at Imperial College London in 2005 and later worked at the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s Culham Centre for Fusion Energy.
MIT President Sally Kornbluth said the killing came during a ‘period of disturbing violence’, adding: ‘It’s entirely natural to feel the need for comfort and support.’
The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office confirmed no arrests have been made in Loureiro’s death, describing it as an ‘active and ongoing homicide investigation’.
Loureiro’s neighbors remembered him as a kind-hearted, ‘wonderful man’, while students flocked to the candle-lit vigil in his memory, as shown in the photograph above
Police continue to urge anyone with information – particularly in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire – to come forward.
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.
Loureiro’s neighbors remembered him as a kind-hearted, ‘wonderful man’, while students flocked to the candle-lit vigil in his memory.
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.’
