[College buildings. Photo Credit to Pixabay]

On December 13th, 2025, a gunman opened fire in a classroom at Brown University’s School of Engineering in Providence, Rhode Island.

During a review session ahead of students’ final exams, two students were killed, and nine others were injured.

The victims were identified as Ella Cook from Birmingham, Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov from Virginia.

According to ABC News, friends and family of the victims described them as kind and strong students with bright futures.

The shooting occurred in the engineering and physics schools within the Barus and Holley Building.

The attacker entered the lecture hall and began firing while students were studying at an optional review session for the upcoming final exams.

Report indicates that the gunman fired more than forty shots before leaving the building.

Authorities later identified the shooter as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese male and former Brown graduate in physics.

Neves studied at Brown in the early 2000s but left the PhD program without completing it.

Furthermore, authorities revealed Valente as the individual responsible for the killing of Nuno Loureiro, a physics professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Professor Loureiro was found dead in his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, two days after the Brown shooting.

After a multi-day manhunt spanning several states, law enforcement officers tracked Valente to a storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire.

On December 18th, Velente was found dead due to self-inflicted gunshot wounds, as reported by People Magazine.

In the storage unit, officials also found one of the guns Velente used during the Brown shooting.

Investigators say that the public’s help played a key role in solving the case.

According to People Magazine, a “Reddit” user provided pivotal information about a car that seemed suspicious, which helped the police during their investigations.

Through this event, online communities proved yet again to be vital in supporting criminal cases.

Meanwhile, a Brown University custodian said he had seen the suspect around the building several times before the attack.

According to People and other reports, he warned security on multiple occasions that the man seemed to be “casing” the area, but it is still unclear what action was taken.

The incident has led to serious questions about how early warnings are handled on campus.

In response to the tragedy, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would conduct thorough review of Brown University for possible safety and Clery Act violations.

The review will scrutinize Brown’s emergency alerts, camera coverage, and building security on the day of the shooting, according to an official press release and Reuters.

Brown’s president stated that the school warned more than 20,000 people quickly, but also promised stronger security and outside reviews.

The case has also intensified a national debate about immigration policy.

According to the Associated Press, Valente entered the United States through the diversity immigrant visa program.

In the aftermath of the shooting, the Trump administration announced a temporary pause of that program on the basis that the program needs stronger checks.

While many agree on the pause of the program, supporters argue that it is unfair to fault the visa system for the actions of an individual.

At Brown University, the community is grieving and trying to cope with the tragedy.

Outside the engineering building, vigils with flowers, photos, and candles have been placed to honor Cook and Umurzokov, the two students who were fatally shot.

This horrific incident is a stark reminder for young people, especially students, that school shootings remain a real threat in the United States, even at top universities like an Ivy League institution.

As classes resume and safety reviews continue, the Brown community now faces the challenge of transforming its shock and sadness into long-term changes that might prevent a similar tragedy in the future.