Authorities are investigating whether a person of interest in last weekend's mass shooting at Brown University is also linked to the killing of an MIT professor near Boston, according to three people familiar with the matter. The same individual is believed to be responsible for both attacks, which occurred about 50 miles apart.
The Brown shooting on Saturday killed two students and wounded nine others in a classroom in the engineering building. The attacker fled the scene and remains at large. Two days later, MIT professor Nuno FG Loureiro, 47, was shot dead at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts. The physicist and fusion scientist died in hospital on Tuesday.
Although the FBI initially said there were no known links between the cases, investigators have now identified a person of interest and are actively searching for them. The suspect is described as about 5ft 8in, tall and stocky. Motives remain unclear, but there is no evidence of a targeted individual.
Frustration is mounting in Providence as the attacker has evaded capture for nearly a week. Despite 1,200 cameras on the Brown campus, the shooting occurred in a part of the engineering building with few cameras, and the suspect entered and exited via a door facing a residential street. Officials have released footage of a masked individual matching the description but have not obtained a clear facial image.
Police are urging the public to review phone and security footage from before the attack, believing the shooter may have cased the area. Providence mayor Brett Smiley acknowledged it is “a scary time in the city” but assured residents that authorities are doing “everything possible” to ensure safety.
Retired FBI agent Katherine Schweit noted that it is rare for perpetrators of high-profile shootings to escape, as they typically are killed or arrested. She said the best hope for resolution lies in tips from the public, as investigators continue to piece together evidence.
