Did a Reddit post help track down the Brown University shooting suspect Claudio Neves Valente? Tip from an anonymous source explored

Almost a week after an open fire took place at the Brown University, authorities identifiied a suspect who could've shot at students last Saturday (on December 13). 

Reddit solved Brown University Mass Shooting immediately after it happened but no one listened. pic.twitter.com/ZKbEXwWfla

— Trent Cannon News 4 Dummies (@TheNews4Dummies) December 19, 2025

Per Hindustan Times, Reddit played a pivotal role in helping authorities track down Valente. An affidavit released by the Peter Neronha - the Attorney General of Rhode Island - acknowledged the platform's assistance. It reads:

"On December 16, 2025, the tip command center received information from an anonymous source referencing a Reddit post from the Providence sub-Reddit. The then anonymous tipster stated the Reddit poster said they saw the suspected shooter walking in the area. Investigators obtained a copy of the Reddit post."

The Reddit post that worked as a tip spoke about "a grey Nissan with Florida plates," which was what the suspect was driving. It further read:

"I know because he used his key fob to open the car, approached it and then something prompted him to back away. When he backed away he relocked the car. I found that odd so when he circled the block I approached the car that is when I saw the Florida plates. He was parked in the section between the gate of the RIHS and the corner of Cooke and George St."

Upon following up with the Reddit tip, authorities did find a grey/blue Nissan sedan in surveillance videos.

Claudio Neves Valente was found dead in a New Hampshire storage facility

FBI documents confirm Claudio Neves-Valente was seen on Flock cameras around Brown University Areas 13 days in a ROW !!!!! pic.twitter.com/SBwZTwojxf

— Flash Intel Live (@flashintellive) December 19, 2025

Right after Claudio Neves Valente's identity as the shooting suspect in the Brown University shooting was revealed, he was found dead in Salem.

Per BBC, Valente was a 48-year-old Portuguese national who has records of being a student at a university in Providence, Rhode Island, over 25 years ago. 

His body was found in a storage facility in New Hampshire's Salem. Police believe that Valente also killed a professor from MIT on Monday - two days after he shot at students at Brown University. 

Authorities also discovered satchel and two firearm weapons around Valente's body, with the Nissan matching the Reddit post's description parked nearby.

Initial inspection of his body reveals a self-inflicted gunshot wound as his cause of death.

Sharing the news with media, FBI Agent Ted Docks said in a conference:

"Even though the suspect was found dead tonight our work is not done. There are many questions that need to be answered."

It seems like Valente also had ties with Brown University. University president Christina Paxson told the media outlet at the Portuguese national was enrolled at the university between autumn of 2000 and spring of 2001. He was studying for a PhD in physics at the time. 

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