A close friend of the gunman responsible for the deadly shootings at Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has described him as a brilliant but troubled bully who would refer to a fellow student as his 'slave.'
The Shooter's Troubled Past Revealed
Scott Watson, who described himself as the shooter's 'only close friend,' spoke to The New York Times about Claudio Manuel Neves Valente. Watson, now a physics professor at Syracuse University, was a former classmate of Valente in Brown's physics Ph.D. programme.
He portrayed Valente, 48, as a complex individual who could be 'kind and gentle' but also possessed a much darker side. Watson stated he once had to break up a fight involving Valente, whom he described as 'brilliantly smart' yet frequently unhappy and angry.
Watson revealed that Valente was known to bully classmates and would at times refer to a Brazilian student as his 'slave.' The friend also said Valente often complained that his coursework was too easy and criticised the quality of the campus food.
A Six-Day Manhunt Ends in Suicide
Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a Portuguese national and former Brown student, was found dead on Thursday evening from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. This concluded a six-day manhunt launched by investigators.
Authorities believe Valente is responsible for fatally shooting two students and wounding nine others at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Two days after the Brown attack, he is also believed to have killed MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro.
Unearthing a Hidden Online Message
The revelations from Valente's friend coincided with the discovery of an old internet post allegedly written by him. According to the NYT, the post was made on a Brown physics message board after Valente dropped out of the programme in May 2001.
The page, accessible via the Internet Archive but not independently verified, appears to show Valente stating he was back in Portugal and providing an email address for former classmates to contact him.
It also contained a message in Portuguese which translated to: 'The greatest liar is the one who is able to lie to themselves. These exist everywhere, but they sometimes proliferate in the most unexpected places.'
The tragic series of events has left two university communities in the United States reeling, as investigators continue to piece together the full motive behind the shootings.
