Brown University shooting: Police examine possible MIT connection — Here's why

Providence police issued an arrest warrant for the suspect in a mass shooting at Brown University that killed two people and injured nine, sources close to the investigation told CBS News.

The large law enforcement are present in Salem, New Hampshire, according to video and aerials from NBC Boston, which is believed to be in connection with the ongoing investigation into the Brown University shooting, as they are searching for the individual and a rental car believed to have been used by the suspect.


Authorities have not publicly identified the person.

According to the aerial video from NBC Boston, some law enforcement members could be seen with guns drawn and pointed toward the building.


As per social media, the officers are in Salem where the suspected shooter’s ABANDONED car was found near a storage facility

Investigators are also examining a possible link between the university shooting and the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology nuclear science and engineering professor two days later.

The search entered its sixth day, with officers knocking on doors, requesting home-security videos and appealing to the public for tips to locate the gunman.

A news conference planned for Thursday afternoon by Providence police was abruptly cancelled, though officials said they expected to provide an update later in the day.

On Thursday, authorities told CBS sources they were probing connections between the Brown University shooting and the death of Nuno F Gomes Loureiro, 47, from Portugal, who was shot “multiple times” on Monday at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, about 80 km from Providence.

Police have obtained an arrest warrant for a suspect, sources said. They added that a rental car matching the same description was seen at both crime scenes. Federal authorities had previously said there was no link between the murders.

On Wednesday, investigators released a photo of an individual believed to have been in close proximity to their primary person of interest. Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said they wanted to speak with the person, “who may have information relevant to the investigation”. He added that the killer “could be anywhere” and “we don’t know where the person is or who he is”.

A day earlier, police showed footage of a person of interest in a black mask walking around the university campus, possibly “casing” the area before the crime, Perez said.

Members of the public have expressed frustration over the investigation’s slow progress. In response, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said he believed the killer would be caught “and it is just a matter of time before we catch him”.

The FBI has offered a $50,000 (£37,350) reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the attack.

The shooting occurred at Brown University’s Barus & Holley engineering building during final exams. Authorities identified the two students killed as Ella Cook, a sophomore from Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, an Uzbek-American freshman.