Federal authorities say the man who killed two Brown University students and an MIT professor planned the attacks for at least six semesters and later recorded a series of videos in which he expressed no remorse, rejected apologies, and described the shootings as deliberate. The US Department of Justice released transcripts of the recordings on Tuesday, days after formally confirming the shooter’s death.
The attacks, the suspect, and confirmation of death
The shooter, identified by law enforcement as Claudio Neves Valente, was a 48-year-old Portuguese national and former Brown University student. On 13 December, he opened fire inside an engineering building at Brown University, killing two students, Ella Cook and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, and wounding nine others. Two days later, on 15 December, Valente fatally shot Nuno FG Loureiro at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts. Loureiro was an MIT professor and had attended school in Portugal decades earlier with Valente. On Thursday, 18 December 2025, the US Attorneys’ Offices, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives jointly announced Valente’s death. He was found dead inside a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire. During a federal search of the storage unit, investigators recovered an electronic device containing several short videos Valente recorded after the shootings.
Planning, intent, and lack of remorse
In a statement released by the US Department of Justice, officials said the FBI recovered the device while executing a federal search warrant on 18 December. The videos were recorded in Portuguese and later translated into English. “In these videos, Neves Valente admitted that he had been planning the Brown University shooting for a long time,” the department said, adding that he did not provide a motive for targeting either the Brown students or the MIT professor. In the recordings, Valente said he had been planning the attack for more than six semesters and claimed he had numerous chances to carry it out earlier, but did not. In one video, he said he had “plenty of opportunities” but “always chickened out”.Across more than 11 minutes of footage, Valente spoke about the shootings, addressed how he was portrayed in the media, complained about a self-inflicted eye injury, and repeatedly rejected the idea that he owed anyone an apology. “I don’t give a damn about how you judge me or what you think of me,” he said in one recording. In another, he said: “I’m not going to apologize because during my lifetime no one sincerely apologized to me.” He framed his actions as intentional and final. He said his goal was to “leave on his own terms” and made clear he felt no regret for the killings themselves. In a DOJ statement, Valente was described as having “showed no remorse during the recordings”.“To say that I was exceptionally satisfied, no, but also I don’t regret what I did,”the transcript reads.
Views on responsibility, injury, and mental state
Valente also spoke at length about how he expected his actions to be interpreted. He dismissed claims that he was motivated by hatred of the United States, saying instead that the shootings were about opportunity rather than ideology. “When I say that I have no hatred toward America, I also have no love for it,” he said, before adding: “Actually, I think that coming here, both times I did, was a f****g mistake. But to say that you all are exceptionally bad, that would be neither bad nor good.” He complained repeatedly about a serious eye injury he said he sustained during the attack on the MIT professor, describing it as the only thing he regretted. “Honestly, my only regret is this thing in the eye,” he said, laughing. “But it was really hard, man.” Valente rejected the suggestion that mental illness explained his actions. “I already know that you are going to say that I am mentally ill, or some shit like that,” he said. “That is all nonsense.” He insisted: “I am sane… I am sane, and… I’ve always been, more or less.” Near the end of one recording, as the lights in the storage facility began to dim, Valente reflected on his worldview. “In my take on all of this,” he said, pausing repeatedly, “I think the world cannot be redeemed. To sum it all up, that is it.”
Federal assessment
The DOJ said Valente showed no remorse in the recordings and instead blamed others while complaining about his injuries.“He exposed his true nature when he blamed innocent, unarmed children for their deaths at his hand and grumbled about a self-inflicted injury,” the department said.Officials said the investigation into motive remains ongoing, but added that based on the evidence reviewed so far, authorities do not believe there is any continuing public safety threat linked to the shootings. Additional updates will be provided as more information is developed and after appropriate victim notifications.
