Authorities have reportedly issued an arrest warrant for a suspect in the Brown University mass shooting that occurred last week and are investigating a potential link between the school massacre and the murder of an MIT professor.
Nuno Loureiro, who taught plasma physics at MIT and was the leader of its Plasma Science and Fusion Center, was shot at his home Monday in Brookline, Massachusetts, only two days after the Brown shooting occurred.
Loureiro later died at a nearby hospital the following day. Police are investigating his death as a homicide.
Multiple sources close to the investigation shared this update with CBS News on Thursday.
Those same sources had also told CBS News earlier in the day that a person of interest had been identified and was being sought by law enforcement.
During the shooting at Brown, two students were killed and nine others were wounded after a gunman opened fire Saturday afternoon inside a campus classroom during final exams.
Following the tragedy, police said a male suspect had escaped from the building.
During the chaotic aftermath, the Federal Bureau of Investigation “released images and videos of the man they described as a person of interest walking around a nearby neighborhood several hours before the first 911 calls reporting the shooting came in,” according to CBS News.
The person was wearing black clothing and a face mask.
ENHANCED VIDEO: We are releasing an enhanced video of the person of interest in the Brown University incident. Footage was captured on the East Side of Providence on Saturday afternoon before the incident.
Please share widely and contact the official tip line if you have… pic.twitter.com/mewBSflOiO
— Providence Police (@ProvidenceRIPD) December 16, 2025
The FBI offered a $50,000 reward for any information leading to the identification, capture, and conviction of the shooter.
“The Boston Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Providence Police Department, and the Rhode Island State Police are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the individual responsible for the mass shooting at Brown University on Saturday, December 13, 2025,” the FBI announcement read.
“Investigators believe the suspect, who is considered armed and dangerous, is approximately 5’8” tall with a stocky build,” the statement continued. “The public is being asked to review photos and video of the suspect and share the images on social media.”
“Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or the Providence Police Department at 401-272-3121.”
This news comes just several days after another person of interest was released from custody by the FBI.
“We will be releasing the person of interest who had been detained earlier today,” Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said late Sunday.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, a Democrat, said releasing the person who was initially detained at a hotel in Coventry doesn’t mean police will fail to crack the case.
“This is what these investigations look like,” Neronha explained. “Sometimes you head in one direction, and then you have to regroup and go in another.”
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