A crucial anonymous tipster, identified in court documents only as "John," has been credited by law enforcement with providing the breakthrough information that cracked the case of the Brown University shooting and the subsequent killing of an MIT professor.
The Tip That Changed Everything
For six days after a gunman fired more than 40 rounds inside a Brown engineering building, killing two students and wounding nine others, the Providence, Rhode Island community was gripped by anxiety. Police appeared no closer to identifying the perpetrator. The investigation gathered critical momentum on its sixth day, culminating late on Thursday, 18 December 2025, with the announcement that the suspected gunman, 48-year-old Claudio Neves Valente, had been found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha stated that the information from the tipster, John, directly resulted in finding the gunman nearly 24 hours later. "He blew this case right open," Neronha said. "When you crack it, you crack it."
From Reddit Threads to Police Affidavit
According to a Providence police affidavit, John had several encounters with Neves Valente before Saturday's attack. When police released images of a person of interest, John began posting on the social media forum Reddit, stating he recognised the individual. He theorised that authorities should investigate a possibly rented grey Nissan.
Urged by other Reddit users to contact the FBI, John confirmed he had done so. Police received the tip on 16 December, three days after the shooting and a day after a dedicated tip line was established. This detail about a vehicle was pivotal; up until that point, officials had not connected a car to the possible shooter.
The information led police to obtain more video footage of a Nissan Sentra with Florida plates. It also enabled Providence officers to access a network of over 70 street cameras operated around the city by the surveillance firm Flock Safety.
A Chilling Series of Encounters
The affidavit reveals John provided investigators with additional critical details. He encountered Neves Valente in the bathroom of the engineering building just hours before the attack, noting the suspect's clothing was "inappropriate and inadequate for the weather."
Later, mere blocks from the building, John bumped into Neves Valente outside. John watched as the suspect "suddenly" turned away from the Nissan upon seeing him. What followed was described in John's testimony as a "game of cat and mouse," with the two repeatedly encountering each other, prompting Neves Valente to run away.
At one point, John yelled, "Your car is back there, why are you circling the block?" The affidavit states, "The Suspect responded, ‘I don’t know you from nobody,’ then Suspect repeatedly asked, ’Why are you harassing me?'" John eventually saw Neves Valente approach the Nissan once more and decided to walk away.
On Wednesday night, John returned to Reddit to confirm he had been interviewed by Providence and state police investigators, writing, "Respectfully, I have said all I have to say on the matter to the right people."
Recognition and Reward
It remains unclear as of Thursday whether John will receive the $50,000 reward the FBI had offered for information about the Brown shooting. When asked by reporters, Special Agent in Charge Ted Docks said it was possible. "It would be logical to think that, absolutely, that individual would be entitled to that," he stated.
The case, which also involved the fatal shooting of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor in his Brookline home on Monday, was ultimately solved through a combination of digital surveillance and the crucial, observant account of a single anonymous citizen.
