Investigators say a gunman who killed two Brown University students and later shot an MIT professor planned the attacks for months and showed no remorse, according to transcripts of confession style videos released by federal prosecutors this week.
The recordings, made by Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, reveal that he spent six academic semesters preparing for the shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, on December 13. Authorities said the material offers new insight into the timeline of the attacks but does not explain why he targeted the victims.
The violence stunned campuses across the northeastern United States and raised urgent questions about how the suspect evaded capture for days while moving across state lines.
English language transcripts of the videos were released Tuesday by the US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. The footage was recorded in Portuguese and later translated, the Justice Department said.
In a statement accompanying the release, prosecutors said Neves Valente acknowledged Brown University as his intended target but never explained his motive. “Although Neves Valente stated that Brown University was his intended target, based on initial review of the evidence collected, he did not provide a motive for targeting students at Brown University or the professor at MIT,” the office said.
The gunman defended his actions in the recordings and denied suffering from mental illness. He also insisted the attack was not driven by hostility toward the United States, saying, “I have no hatred towards America,” while describing his decision to move there as a mistake.
The December 13 classroom shooting at Brown University killed students Ella Cook, 19, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, and wounded nine others, authorities said. Two days later, MIT professor Nuno Loureiro was shot and killed at his home near Boston.
Investigators said Neves Valente later took his own life. His body and the videos were discovered on December 18 inside a storage unit in New Hampshire, bringing an end to a manhunt that stretched across three states.
Read Also: Brown University Shooting: Police Hunts For Person of Interest
In the recordings, prosecutors said, the suspect expressed no regret. “Neves Valente showed no remorse during the recordings,” the statement said, adding that he blamed the victims for their deaths and complained about a self inflicted eye injury caused by a bullet casing during the shooting of the MIT professor.
He also reflected on being confronted by a witness during the Brown University attack, remarking that he was surprised by how long it took police to identify him.
Authorities said Neves Valente was a former Brown University student and had attended the same university in Portugal as the MIT professor, suggesting the two may have known each other.
While the main suspect is dead, prosecutors said the investigation remains active. Officials stressed there is no ongoing threat to the public but said they continue to review evidence to fully understand the sequence of events.