{ "id": "2025-12-13-brown-university-shooting", "slug": "brown-university-shooting-2025-12-13", "institution": { "name": "Brown University", "shortName": "Brown", "state": "RI", "type": "private-r1", "alertSystemName": "BrownAlert", "enrollment": 11000 }, "incident": { "date": "2025-12-13", "type": "active-shooter", "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification", "resolution": "confirmed-threat", "headline": "Former graduate student shoots 11 during an exam review session; two students killed", "headlinePublic": "Former graduate student shoots 11 during an exam review session; two students killed", "summary": "On December 13, 2025, during finals week, a former Brown University physics PhD student [opened fire in the Barus and Holley Building](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Brown_University_shooting), shooting 11 people (killing two students and wounding nine others) in first-floor Room 166, where a 21-year-old teaching assistant was leading an optional economics final-exam review session. Brown issued an [active shooter alert at 4:22 PM EST](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/brown-university-students-describe-uncertainty-fear-lockdown-shooting-rcna249079), and the campus was placed on full lockdown. The gunman fled and was [found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Salem, New Hampshire on December 18, 2025](https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/brown-university-shooting-suspect-12-18-25), after a five-day manhunt.", "outcome": "Two students, Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov '29 and Ella Cook '28, were killed and nine others wounded (11 people shot in all). The shooter, Cláudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, a Portuguese national and former Brown physics PhD student (enrolled 2000, withdrew 2003), fled the scene; two days later, on December 15, he fatally shot MIT physics professor Nuno Loureiro, a former classmate, in Brookline, MA. Valente was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a storage unit in Salem, NH on December 18, 2025 (an autopsy determined he had been dead since around December 16). The U.S. Department of Education announced a Clery Act compliance review of Brown University.", "casualties": { "killed": 2, "injured": 9 } }, "alerts": [ { "sequence": 1, "type": "initial", "timestamp": "2025-12-13T16:22:00-05:00", "channel": "push-notification", "verbatimText": "1st, Urgent: There's an active shooter near Barus & Holley Engineering. Lock doors, silence phones, and stay hidden until further notice. Remember: RUN, if you are in the affected location, evacuate safely if you can; HIDE, if evacuation is not possible, take cover; FIGHT, as a last resort, take action to protect yourself. Stay tuned for further safety information.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://publicsafety.brown.edu/alerts/urgent-hostile-intruder", "sourceDescription": "Brown DPSEM Urgent: Hostile Intruder archive (1st)", "annotations": [ "Exact 1st Urgent text from official Brown DPSEM alert archive page", "Fuller than the abbreviated SMS quote previously held; includes RUN/HIDE/FIGHT script" ], "characterCount": 367 }, { "sequence": 2, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2025-12-13T16:30:00-05:00", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "BrownUAlert: 4th Urgent: Report of shots fired near Governor street. Continue to shelter in place. Stay clear. Law enforcement responding. Updates: http://brown.edu", "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/1999970453956501869", "sourceDescription": "@BrownUniversity on X (verbatim raw t.co)", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "annotations": [ "Exact 2nd Urgent text from official Brown DPSEM alert archive", "Includes early erroneous 'One suspect is in custody' later superseded by 3rd update" ], "characterCount": 164, "timestampApprox": "Shortly after the 4:22 PM initial Urgent on Dec 13, 2025 (2nd Urgent on DPSEM archive)", "confidence": "high" }, { "sequence": 3, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2025-12-13T17:31:10-05:00", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "BrownUAlert: 3rd, Continue to shelter in place. Remain away from Barus & Holley area. Police do not have a suspect in custody and continue to search for suspect(s). Brown coordinating with multiple law enforcement agencies on site. Visit http://brown.edu for updates.", "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/1999970380396851397", "sourceDescription": "@BrownUniversity on X (verbatim)", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "annotations": [ "Exact text from official @BrownUniversity status" ], "characterCount": 267 }, { "sequence": 4, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2025-12-13T17:31:28-05:00", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "BrownUAlert: 4th Urgent: Report of shots fired near Governor street. Continue to shelter in place. Stay clear. Law enforcement responding. Updates: http://brown.edu", "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/1999970453956501869", "sourceDescription": "@BrownUniversity on X (verbatim raw t.co)", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "annotations": [ "Exact text from official @BrownUniversity status" ], "characterCount": 164 }, { "sequence": 5, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2025-12-13T17:54:44-05:00", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "BrownUAlert: 5th Update, Urgent: Situation remains ongoing. Continue to shelter in place. Law enforcement on site. Visit http://brown.edu for updates.", "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/1999976307724333212", "sourceDescription": "@BrownUniversity on X (verbatim raw t.co)", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "annotations": [ "Exact text from official @BrownUniversity status" ], "characterCount": 150 }, { "sequence": 6, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2025-12-13T18:15:11-05:00", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "BrownUAlert: 6th Update, The earlier report of a secondary shooting incident near Governor Street is unfounded. However, it remains critical to continue to shelter in place due to the original situation. Updates: http://brown.edu", "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/1999981456182202522", "sourceDescription": "@BrownUniversity on X (verbatim raw t.co)", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "annotations": [ "Exact text from official @BrownUniversity status" ], "characterCount": 229 }, { "sequence": 7, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2025-12-13T19:31:25-05:00", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "BrownUAlert: 7th update, Situation remains ongoing. Continue to shelter in place. Law enforcement remains on site. Updates: http://brown.edu", "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/2000000639418695779", "sourceDescription": "@BrownUniversity on X (verbatim raw t.co)", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "annotations": [ "Exact text from official @BrownUniversity status" ], "characterCount": 140 }, { "sequence": 8, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2025-12-13T20:30:01-05:00", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "BrownUAlert: 8th Update, The Brown campus continues to be in lockdown, and it is imperative that all members of our community remain sheltered in place. This means keeping all doors locked and ensuring no movement across campus. The law enforcement response remains ongoing.", "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/2000015386113159460", "sourceDescription": "@BrownUniversity on X (verbatim raw t.co)", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "annotations": [ "Exact text from official @BrownUniversity status" ], "characterCount": 274 }, { "sequence": 9, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2025-12-13T21:30:47-05:00", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "BrownUAlert: 9th update, The Brown campus continues to be in lockdown, and it is imperative that all members of our community remain sheltered in place. This means keeping all doors locked and ensuring no movement across campus. The law enforcement response remains ongoing.", "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/2000030678868512957", "sourceDescription": "@BrownUniversity on X (verbatim raw t.co)", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "annotations": [ "Exact text from official @BrownUniversity status; full message visible on status page including Safety sentence" ], "characterCount": 274 }, { "sequence": 10, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2025-12-13T23:20:03-05:00", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "BrownUAlert: 10th update, Law enforcement agencies have established a perimeter around a portion of Brown’s campus. Please view the map and instructions: http://brown.edu. The shelter-in-place remains ongoing.", "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/2000058179003027867", "sourceDescription": "@BrownUniversity on X (verbatim raw t.co)", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "annotations": [ "Exact text from official @BrownUniversity status" ], "characterCount": 209 }, { "sequence": 11, "type": "update", "timestamp": "2025-12-14T02:12:06-05:00", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "BrownUAlert: Law enforcement officers continue to evacuate community members from administrative buildings inside the perimeter depicted on the map. For all locations (inside and outside the perimeter), the shelter in place remains ongoing. Please see the president's email and", "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/2000101475465224628", "sourceDescription": "@BrownUniversity on X (verbatim raw t.co)", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "annotations": [ "Exact text from official @BrownUniversity status between 10th update and all-clear" ], "characterCount": 277 }, { "sequence": 12, "type": "all-clear", "timestamp": "2025-12-14T05:42:00-05:00", "channel": "twitter-x", "verbatimText": "11th Urgent: Providence police have advised the University that the shelter-in-place order has ended for the entire Brown campus. However, police activity continues in areas that are still considered an active crime scene. Be advised that access to these areas of campus continues to be limited. Within the police perimeter, including Minden Hall and nearby apartment buildings, community members who leave those buildings will be unable to return. It is important to follow instructions from law enforcement at all times.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://publicsafety.brown.edu/alerts/urgent-hostile-intruder-9", "sourceDescription": "Brown DPSEM Urgent: Hostile Intruder archive (11th all-clear)", "annotations": [ "Exact 11th Urgent all-clear from official Brown DPSEM alert archive" ], "characterCount": 522 } ], "context": "On the afternoon of December 13, 2025, shortly after 4 PM EST during finals week, a gunman entered the [Barus and Holley Building](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Brown_University_shooting) (home to Brown's School of Engineering and physics department in Providence, Rhode Island) and opened fire in the 186-seat first-floor Room 166, where a 21-year-old teaching assistant was running an optional economics final-exam review session. Eleven people were shot: two students killed and nine wounded. Brown issued an active shooter alert at [4:22 PM EST](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/brown-university-students-describe-uncertainty-fear-lockdown-shooting-rcna249079), and the entire campus was placed on full lockdown with shelter-in-place orders. The shooter, identified as [Cláudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/brown-university-shooting-live-updates-rcna249056), a Portuguese national who had enrolled in Brown's physics PhD program in 2000 and withdrawn in 2003, fled the scene before police arrived. Two days later, on December 15, he fatally shot MIT physics professor Nuno Loureiro (a former classmate) at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts. Valente was [found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire on December 18, 2025](https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/brown-university-shooting-suspect-12-18-25); an autopsy determined he had been dead since around December 16. Victims of the shooting [filed a lawsuit against the university](https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/providence/3-brown-campus-shooting-victims-sue-university-alleging-failure-to-act-on-warnings/), alleging that Brown failed to act on prior warnings about the suspect, including reports from a custodian who had seen Valente canvassing the building in the days before the attack. The [U.S. Department of Education announced a Clery Act compliance review](https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-review-of-brown-university-potential-clery-act-violations) of Brown University in the aftermath.", "keyFindings": [ "A custodian had reported the suspect as suspicious in the days before the shooting; a lawsuit later filed by victims alleges the university failed to act on prior warnings", "The U.S. Department of Education opened a Clery Act compliance review of Brown University following the shooting", "The five-day manhunt ended December 18, 2025 when the suspect was found dead by suicide inside a storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire; the same gunman also killed MIT physics professor Nuno Loureiro in Brookline, MA on December 15" ], "sources": [ { "title": "BrownUniversity X post: BrownUAlert all-clear at 5:42 AM EST December 14, 2025", "url": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/2000159514117525742", "type": "official-social" }, { "title": "2025 Brown University shooting (Wikipedia)", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Brown_University_shooting", "type": "other" }, { "title": "Brown University students describe uncertainty and fear in lockdown (NBC News)", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/brown-university-students-describe-uncertainty-fear-lockdown-shooting-rcna249079", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "2 dead, 9 wounded in Brown University shooting (NBC News live blog)", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/brown-university-shooting-live-updates-rcna249056", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "3 Brown campus shooting victims sue university (WPRI)", "url": "https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/providence/3-brown-campus-shooting-victims-sue-university-alleging-failure-to-act-on-warnings/", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "U.S. Department of Education Announces Review of Brown University for Potential Clery Act Violations", "url": "https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-review-of-brown-university-potential-clery-act-violations", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "Brown University shooting suspect found dead at storage facility in Salem (CNN live updates)", "url": "https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/brown-university-shooting-suspect-12-18-25", "type": "local-media" }, { "title": "@BrownUniversity on X (verbatim BrownUAlert 3rd update)", "url": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/1999970380396851397", "type": "official-social" }, { "title": "@BrownUniversity on X (verbatim BrownUAlert 4th Governor St)", "url": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/1999970453956501869", "type": "official-social" }, { "title": "@BrownUniversity on X (verbatim BrownUAlert 5th update)", "url": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/1999976307724333212", "type": "official-social" }, { "title": "@BrownUniversity on X (verbatim BrownUAlert 6th — Governor St unfounded)", "url": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/1999981456182202522", "type": "official-social" }, { "title": "@BrownUniversity on X (verbatim BrownUAlert 7th update)", "url": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/2000000639418695779", "type": "official-social" }, { "title": "@BrownUniversity on X (verbatim BrownUAlert 8th lockdown)", "url": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/2000015386113159460", "type": "official-social" }, { "title": "@BrownUniversity on X (verbatim BrownUAlert 10th perimeter)", "url": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/2000058179003027867", "type": "official-social" }, { "title": "@BrownUniversity X — BrownUAlert 9th update", "url": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/2000030678868512957", "type": "official-social" }, { "title": "Brown DPSEM 1st Urgent Hostile Intruder", "url": "https://publicsafety.brown.edu/alerts/urgent-hostile-intruder", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "Brown DPSEM 2nd Urgent Hostile Intruder", "url": "https://publicsafety.brown.edu/alerts/urgent-hostile-intruder-0", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "Brown DPSEM 11th Urgent all-clear", "url": "https://publicsafety.brown.edu/alerts/urgent-hostile-intruder-9", "type": "official-archive" }, { "url": "https://x.com/BrownUniversity/status/2000101475465224628", "title": "@BrownUniversity on X", "type": "official-archive", "dateAccessed": "2026-07-18" } ], "confidence": "high", "tags": [ "active-shooter", "mass-shooting", "rhode-island", "ivy-league", "finals-week", "manhunt", "clery-review", "former-student", "private-university" ], "dateAdded": "2026-05-03", "lastUpdated": "2026-07-19", "addedBy": "ingestion", "communityResponse": { "sentiment": "negative", "summary": "BrownAlert's first active-shooter alert went out at 4:22 p.m. EST on December 13, 2025 (roughly 15 minutes after the first 911 call), and students said they had already learned of the danger from the anonymous Sidechat app first; many students and nearby Providence residents called the notification late, thin on information, or said they received [\"absolutely nothing\"](https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2026/01/in-wake-of-shooting-providence-residents-express-discontent-with-emergency-alert-systems) ([Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/us/brown-university-students-react-shooter-being-found.amp)).", "quotes": [ { "text": "Just the fact that it took so long to respond to the emergency and told us to shelter in place … is really worrying.", "speaker": "Gures, Brown student", "source": "Fox News", "sourceUrl": "https://www.foxnews.com/us/brown-university-students-react-shooter-being-found.amp", "sourceType": "local-media", "isVerbatimConfirmed": false }, { "text": "It really blew my mind that there was no notification whatsoever", "speaker": "Providence resident near campus", "source": "The Brown Daily Herald", "sourceUrl": "https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2026/01/in-wake-of-shooting-providence-residents-express-discontent-with-emergency-alert-systems", "sourceType": "student-newspaper", "isVerbatimConfirmed": false } ], "confidence": "medium" } }