Federal and local authorities in the United States are urgently investigating a potential connection between a mass shooting at an Ivy League university and the fatal attack on a prominent physicist at another elite institution just days later.
Dual Investigations Converge on a Person of Interest
According to three sources familiar with the ongoing probes, investigators are examining links between the horrific incident at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday and the killing of MIT professor Nuno FG Loureiro near Boston on Monday night. The sources, who spoke anonymously as they were not authorised to discuss the case, revealed that a person of interest has been identified and is being actively sought.
This marks a significant shift from the FBI's earlier statement that it knew of no links between the two cases. The attacks occurred roughly 50 miles (80km) apart, with the Brown shooter killing two students and wounding nine others in an engineering building classroom before escaping.
Professor Loureiro, a 47-year-old physicist and fusion scientist, was gunned down in his home in the Boston suburb of Brookline. He succumbed to his injuries in hospital the following day.
Mounting Frustration as Shooter Evades Capture
Nearly a week after the Brown University attack, frustration is growing in Providence that the perpetrator managed to flee and that a clear image of their face has not been established. Police have released several video clips showing an individual matching witness descriptions from the hours surrounding the shooting.
However, the person is seen wearing a mask or with their head turned away in all footage, taken from streets just off campus. Investigators believe the shooter used a door facing a residential street, which may explain why Brown's extensive network of approximately 1,200 cameras failed to capture usable images.
"There's no discouragement among people who understand that not every case can be solved quickly," stated Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha during a Wednesday news conference. Authorities have pleaded with the public to review any personal footage from the week before the attack, suspecting the shooter may have cased the location beforehand.
A Community on Edge and a Scholar Remembered
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley acknowledged the city is enduring "a scary time", with families likely debating whether to stay in town over the upcoming holidays. "We are doing everything we can to reassure folks, to provide comfort," he said when questioned about public safety.
Meanwhile, tributes have poured in for Professor Loureiro. The Portuguese-born academic joined MIT in 2016 and was appointed last year to lead the institute's Plasma Science and Fusion Center, a major laboratory focused on clean energy research. Colleague Dennis Whyte described him as a "bright light" admired for his articulate and compassionate leadership.
Retired FBI agent and mass shooting expert Katherine Schweit noted that while it is rare for perpetrators of such high-profile, targeted attacks to evade immediate capture, investigations can take time. "The best hope for solutions is going to come from the public," she emphasised.
Investigators describe the individual they are seeking as approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall with a stocky build. The motive remains unknown, with no current evidence suggesting a specific target was intended in the Brown University assault.
