Five days after the December 13 mass shooting at Brown University's Barus & Holley engineering building that killed two students and wounded nine, investigators have released additional surveillance images of persons of interest, acknowledged challenges in gathering witness accounts, and are now examining a possible connection to the December 15 killing of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro in Brookline, Massachusetts. A man initially detained in the Brown case was later released after being cleared of involvement.
Investigators have expanded their public appeal for information in the December 13 shooting at Brown University, releasing new surveillance images and asking witnesses who were in the Barus & Holley building to come forward.
According to Providence police statements and reporting from The Daily Wire, authorities have distributed enhanced images and video of at least two persons of interest seen on and around Brown’s College Hill campus in the hours before and after the attack. One individual is described in footage as wearing a dark jacket, mask and hat while walking in the area for an extended period prior to the shooting. A second person of interest, shown in a still image released on Wednesday, is seen wearing a blue jacket with a green hood and carrying a light-colored or white satchel near the scene.
Law enforcement officials have asked anyone with information about either individual, or about the shooting more broadly, to call a dedicated tip line at 401-272-3121. The FBI’s Boston office has announced a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the Brown shooting, a figure confirmed in public notices and social media posts by federal authorities.
Authorities have said that the gunman opened fire shortly after 4 p.m. on December 13 inside the Barus & Holley building, which houses Brown’s School of Engineering and physics department. Two students, identified by the university as Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, were killed, and nine other people were injured. Federal and local officials have noted that the attacker, whose face was covered, fled on foot and has not been identified.
Early in the investigation, police took a man into custody as a person of interest but later released him after determining he was not involved in the shooting, Providence officials said, according to multiple news reports.
Investigators have also acknowledged difficulties related to witness interviews and surveillance coverage. Barus & Holley is an older teaching and research facility with a mix of laboratories, classrooms and offices. While the campus overall has extensive camera coverage, authorities have said that certain areas in and around the building have more limited surveillance, complicating efforts to reconstruct the gunman’s movements, as reported by local and national outlets.
Brown University administrators have urged anyone who was in Barus & Holley around the time of the shooting to cooperate with law enforcement. The Brown Daily Herald, the university’s student newspaper, has reported that as of several days after the attack, not all potential witnesses had been interviewed, and city officials have publicly noted that gathering and processing statements from students, faculty and staff remains ongoing.
Separately, social media speculation has focused on various individuals with ties to Brown. University leaders have issued statements condemning online harassment and doxxing of students and others who have been named in unverified posts. Brown officials have described such activity as irresponsible and harmful and have stressed that unsubstantiated claims circulating online should not be treated as evidence in the case.
In the past 24 hours, investigators have begun examining potential connections between the Brown shooting and the fatal shooting of MIT professor Nuno F. G. Loureiro in Brookline, Massachusetts, two days later. Reporting by The Daily Wire, the Associated Press and Reuters indicates that federal, state and local authorities, including the FBI, are now reviewing evidence in both cases to determine whether they may be linked.
Loureiro, a prominent plasma physicist and director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, was shot multiple times inside his Brookline home on the evening of December 15 and later died at a Boston hospital, according to MIT statements and news accounts. The two incidents occurred less than 50 miles apart.
Officials initially said there appeared to be no connection between the Brown and MIT cases, but law enforcement sources have since told several outlets that the possibility of a link is now under active review. As of December 18, no suspect has been publicly identified in the Loureiro killing, and authorities have not announced any definitive connection between the two shootings.
Law enforcement agencies continue to urge members of the public who may have information, security footage or other relevant details about either incident to contact the Providence Police Department, the Brookline Police Department or the FBI tip line.
