Providence, Rhode Island — Chaos erupted on December 13 at Brown University as a shooter opened fire on campus, leaving two students dead and nine others injured. The tragedy unfolded as authorities responded swiftly to emergency calls, marking the beginning of a prolonged search for the suspect.
In the immediate aftermath, dispatch logs reveal a flurry of activity starting around 4:06 p.m. Minutes after the initial reports, law enforcement received calls confirming gunfire at the Barus and Holley engineering building, where many students were preparing for final exams. As officers rushed to the scene, the nature of the emergency escalated, with reports identifying multiple victims.
By 4:11 p.m., two male students had been identified as victims, one suffering a gunshot wound to the shoulder and the other to the abdomen. The urgency of the situation heightened as dispatchers logged multiple reports of casualties, including a female student who had been shot several times.
Witnesses inside the engineering building described hearing multiple gunshots as they sheltered in place. “I thought it was fireworks at first,” one student recalled. “When I realized what was happening, I just froze.” As the timeline unfolded, reports soon emerged of a suspect fitting a description of wearing dark clothing and a mask, which fueled anxiety among students and families alike.
As law enforcement conducted their sweep of the school, they discovered students hiding in various locations, including classrooms and bathrooms, leading to a broader and more time-consuming investigation. Even hours after the first reports of firing, authorities were still conducting thorough searches, with dispatch logs indicating that some victims were still in need of medical assistance as late as 6:21 p.m.
A bus operation was initiated around 7:30 p.m., transporting families to a designated reunification center. The campus remained locked down until the following morning, marking a long night filled with uncertainty for students and their parents. Officials ultimately redirected their focus to apprehending the shooter.
A person of interest was detained the day after the shooting but was released later when investigations uncovered that evidence did not link them to the crime. A warrant for the actual shooter, identified as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, was issued five days post-incident.
Neves Valente, originally from Portugal, had been a promising student at Brown University, having graduated at the top of his class in high school and pursued advanced studies in physics. A brief leave of absence in 2001 marked the beginning of his withdrawal from the school in 2003, leaving investigators puzzled about why he chose to target the university years later.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha has expressed the uncertainty surrounding Valente’s motives. “Why Brown? We may never know,” he said. “This incident leaves many questions unanswered about what could have driven him to commit such an act.” The community continues to grapple with the tragic events as they seek answers and healing in the wake of this senseless violence.