Providence, R.I. — A tense and heartbreaking week in New England unfolded as investigators confirmed they’ve identified a new person of interest in the December 13 mass shooting at Brown University that left two students dead and nine others injured, and are now examining whether that same individual could be tied to the shocking killing of renowned MIT plasma physicist Nuno F. G. Loureiro at his Brookline, Massachusetts home two days later.
The year’s end was marred by violence on the Brown campus just after 4 p.m. on Saturday, when a masked gunman dressed in dark clothing entered a crowded final exam review session in the Barus & Holley Science Building. Witnesses recall the chaos — shots fired seemingly without warning, piercing the academic calm of one of America’s oldest universities. Two bright young lives were cut short: Ella Cook, 19, a sophomore from Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, a freshman from Virginia.
Those inside the lecture hall scrambled for safety as the shooter pumped rounds into the room, leaving nine classmates wounded — injuries that ranged from serious to life-threatening. By the time campus security and local police swarmed the scene, the assailant had vanished into the gray winter afternoon, slipping through a side exit that faces Hope Street, where neighborhood cameras later caught glimpses of the masked figure.
In the immediate hours after the attack, officers detained a 24-year-old man as a person of interest, offering a brief glimmer of hope. But forensic testing soon cleared him of involvement, and he was released without charges. Since then, investigators have pored over every shred of video and evidence, releasing enhanced footage of a figure seen roaming nearby streets before and after the shooting, and urging the public to come forward with any leads.
Then, just days later, tragedy struck again. On the evening of Monday, December 15, 47-year-old Nuno Loureiro, a beloved professor of nuclear science and engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and director of its Plasma Science and Fusion Center, was found shot in his Brookline home about 50 miles north of Brown’s campus. He died early Tuesday at a Boston hospital, prompting a homicide investigation that stunned both the academic and scientific communities.
At first, federal officials said there was no obvious link between Loureiro’s killing and the Brown shooting. But as detectives from multiple jurisdictions compared notes, a new picture began to take shape — one that has authorities now seeking a suspect believed to be connected to both tragedies. Sources familiar with the investigation say an arrest warrant has been issued, and a rented vehicle tied to the person of interest may hold clues useful to both cases.
The Brown and Brookline communities remain on edge. Brown students, faculty, and families are grappling with loss, grief, and unanswered questions just weeks before winter break, while colleagues and former students of Loureiro mourn a scientist whose work on fusion energy inspired so many. There are no confirmed motives, no arrests, and no clear reason why these two acts of violence might be connected — only a growing urgency from law enforcement to piece together a puzzle that has captured national attention.
As the manhunt continues, authorities have warned that the individual they’re searching for could be armed and dangerous, appealing for anyone with information about sightings of the suspect or the vehicle believed to be associated with him to contact police immediately. The region watches and waits, desperate for closure and hoping for a breakthrough that brings answers, justice, and peace.
The post “Brown Students Ella Cook, Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov Killed as Authorities Hunt ‘Person of Interest’, Probe Possible Link to MIT Professor Nuno Loureiro’s Murder” appeared first on Tripplenews.
