Brown University is facing lawsuits from three students who were injured in the December 13 campus shooting, alleging that the Ivy League school ignored prior warnings about the shooter and failed to provide adequate security that could have prevented the tragedy.
Lawsuits Filed in Rhode Island Superior Court
The lawsuits, filed last week in Rhode Island Superior Court, claim that the unnamed plaintiffs suffered because Brown failed to maintain “reasonable and appropriate security measures.” One lawsuit states: “As direct and proximate result of Brown’s aforementioned acts of negligence, Plaintiff suffered and became afflicted with grave and severe personal injuries, causing Plaintiff to suffer great pain of body, mind, nerves and nervous system.”
University Response
A spokesperson for Brown University said they are reviewing the complaints “carefully and promptly.” Brian Clark added: “Out of respect for the privacy interests of the plaintiffs, we have no details to share on the merits of the litigation at this time.”
Details of the Shooting
According to law enforcement, gunman Claudio Neves Valente, 48, entered a study session in a Brown academic building on December 13 and opened fire, killing 19-year-old sophomore Ella Cook and 18-year-old freshman MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, and wounding nine others. Two days later, Neves Valente, a former Brown physics graduate student, also fatally shot Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro at his Boston-area home. Neves Valente was found dead days later at a New Hampshire storage facility from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. An autopsy determined he died on December 16, the same day Loureiro died in a hospital.
Alleged Security Failures
The lawsuits claim that Brown’s campus security was alerted by a custodian that Neves Valente had been “casing” the building, but the school did not investigate the reports. Shortly after the shooting, Brown’s president placed the campus police on leave amid a review of security policies. Much of the focus has centered on whether the building where the attack took place had security cameras installed and the overall ease of accessing campus buildings.
