Brown Students Return as Campus Questions Security After Deadly Shooting

Brown University reopened for the spring semester while the campus continues to grapple with the aftermath of a mass shooting that killed two students and wounded nine others. The attack and the events that followed — including a related killing of an MIT professor days later — have raised urgent questions about campus security, emergency communications and how the suspect was able to elude immediate identification.

What Happened

Authorities say the suspected shooter is Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national. A Department of Justice transcript of a recording Neves-Valente made after the attack indicates he had planned the assault for some time: "It's done. It was, it was six months, man. Not six months, six semesters... I had already planned this for a little more," the transcript reads.

Victims of the attack include Brown students Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov. Days later, MIT professor Nuno Loureiro was killed in a related attack, prompting heightened scrutiny of how the incidents may be connected.

Questions About Security And Identification

Brown has faced criticism over how the suspect evaded local authorities and how his identity was ultimately discovered. Investigators say a man known only by the pseudonym "John," a person who had been living in the basement of Brown’s Barus & Holley engineering building, played a role in identifying the suspect. Police had asked the public via social media for help locating individuals who were near the person of interest.

Providence, RI - December 13: Brown University President Christina H. Paxson speaks during a press conference after a mass shooting prompted a lockdown on campus on December 13, 2025.

The Department of Education criticized Brown’s surveillance and emergency-notification procedures in a Dec. 22 statement, saying the campus system "may not have been up to appropriate standards" and that reports of delayed alerts could represent "serious breaches" of the university’s federal responsibilities if confirmed.

University Response And Security Changes

Brown President Christina Paxson announced several measures in the week after the shooting, including stricter ID-card enforcement, an after-action review, an external security assessment of building perimeters, access points, cameras and technology, and creation of a rapid response safety team. In a Jan. 16 email obtained by the Brown Daily Herald, administrators said parts of Barus & Holley — including lecture halls 166 and 168 and classrooms 155–165, along with adjacent hallways and restrooms — would be closed and inaccessible to the public while changes are implemented.

Campus Reaction

"Being back at the place where this happened a month ago, it feels so fresh and raw," graduate student Jack DiPrimio told Fox News Digital. "The memorials are beautiful, but they’re also really hard to walk by because I get emotional seeing Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook’s faces."

DiPrimio and other students report seeing more visible safety measures on campus — new emergency buttons, additional security personnel and other resources. Some students have organized a group called "Students Demand Action at Brown University," which planned a first meeting on Jan. 21 to discuss advocacy and policy steps.

Broader Implications And Next Steps

The case has prompted political debate about immigration and visa policies after reports about how the suspect entered the U.S. Brown’s review and the external security assessment are intended to identify operational failures and recommend improvements. University officials say they will conduct an after-action review to better understand the timeline and decisions that preceded the attack.

Fox News Digital contacted Brown University for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.