Brown University has retained former U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha to help coordinate with law enforcement and prepare for potential litigation after the Dec. 13 shootings that killed students Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov. The suspected shooter, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, was found dead and a motive has not been released. Brown is facing criticism over limited on-campus camera coverage, has placed its public safety chief on leave, and will undergo an external safety review while the U.S. Department of Education reviews Clery Act compliance.
Brown Retains Former U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha as Potential Lawsuits Loom After Campus Fatalities
Former U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha has been hired by Brown University amid a slew of potential lawsuits over the fatal shooting on campus that left two students dead.
Brown University has retained former U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha to assist the university as it prepares for possible litigation and to coordinate with law enforcement following the Dec. 13 fatal shootings of two students on campus.
“Brown works routinely with outside counsel whose expertise complements that of the University's Office of the General Counsel. In this case, we retained Zachary Cunha, the former United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, to assist the University in coordinating with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies,” the university said in a statement.
The shooting on Dec. 13 claimed the lives of students Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov inside an academic building. The suspected shooter, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national who previously attended Brown, was found dead last week. Authorities have not announced a motive.
Visitors pause at a makeshift memorial for the victims of Saturday's shooting, at the Van Wickle Gate at Brown University, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, Rhode Island.
In the days after the attack, investigators canvassed neighborhoods outside campus for surveillance footage amid criticism that Brown's on-campus camera coverage was limited. Reporting has also highlighted gaps in Providence's so-called Real Time Crime Center and its video feeds near the university.
Brown announced multiple responses to the incident, including an external after-action review and a comprehensive campus safety and security assessment. The university placed Rodney Chatman, its vice president for public safety and emergency management, on immediate leave; Hugh T. Clements, the former chief of the Providence Police Department, will serve in an interim capacity.
A bouquet of flowers rests on snow, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, on the campus of Brown University not far from where a shooting took place, in Providence.
The U.S. Department of Education has opened a review to determine Brown's compliance with the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act, which sets campus safety and crime-reporting obligations for institutions that receive federal student aid. A Department of Education official said the review is intended to assess whether the university met its legal responsibilities to maintain campus safety and report crime accurately.
Zachary Cunha was nominated as U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island in 2021 and served in that role until he stepped down during the presidential transition. He is currently a partner in the litigation and government investigations and white-collar defense groups at the law firm Nixon Peabody. As U.S. Attorney, his office prosecuted cases involving the opioid crisis, fraud and other criminal matters.
Brown and its outside counsel are preparing for coordination with criminal investigators and for potential civil claims related to the campus killings. The university said the retained counsel will complement its in-house legal team rather than replace it.
