'Wrongfully targeted': Zohran Mamdani meets Mustapha Kharbouch falsely accused of Brown University shooting; vows to combat Islamophobia

NEW DELHI: New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday met Mustapha Kharbouch, a Palestinian student at Brown University who was falsely accused online of carrying out a deadly campus shooting.

US authorities said that misinformation and doxxing seriously complicated the investigation and put an innocent student at risk.


In a post on X, Mamdani said conspiracy theories had wrongly targeted Kharbouch after a photograph of him wearing a keffiyeh circulated online following the early December shooting at Brown University.

“Last week, online conspiracy theorists wrongfully blamed Mustapha Kharbouch, a young Palestinian student at Brown University, for the horrific shooting in early December because of a photo of him wearing a Keffiyeh,” Mamdani wrote, adding that Kharbouch faced death threats and “unimaginable Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism”.



Mamdani said he spoke to Kharbouch about his academic interests and personal life, including plans to pursue a PhD and possibly return to New York City. “And I learned about his Palestinian heritage, the very heritage he was doxxed for,” he said.

Mamdani added, “I told Mustapha that we would love to have him back in New York City, where — as Mayor — I will make it my job to cherish, protect, and celebrate all New Yorkers and combat Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism at every corner.”

US authorities have since identified the gunman as Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national who attended Brown University decades ago and acted alone. He was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a storage unit in New Hampshire, police said.

Rhode Island State Police said false claims circulating online hindered their investigation. “Criminal investigations are grounded in evidence, not speculation or online commentary,” Colonel Darnell Weaver said. “The endless barrage of misinformation, disinformation, rumors, leaks and clickbait were not helpful in this investigation. Distractions and unfounded criticisms do not support this work. They complicate it and threaten to undermine the justice we seek.”

The false narrative gained traction after anonymous and right-wing social media accounts claimed the shooter was a Palestinian student and shared images of Kharbouch alongside police footage of a person of interest. His image and contact details were widely circulated, prompting death and deportation threats.

“The past few days have been an unimaginable nightmare,” Kharbouch said in a statement shared by his legal team. “I woke up on Tuesday morning to unfounded, vile, Islamophobic, and anti-Palestinian accusations being directed toward me online.” He added, “I received non-stop death threats and hate speech.”

Kharbouch’s legal team said he cooperated fully with law enforcement and described the online campaign as “disturbing, racist, and hateful,” stressing that he was never a person of interest in the case.

Brown University condemned what it described as “harmful doxxing activity” and said it took steps to limit Kharbouch’s online presence as a safety measure. “It’s important to make clear that targeting individuals could do irrevocable harm,” the university said, calling the accusations and speculation “irresponsible, harmful, and in some cases dangerous”.

University president Christina Paxson said the shooting and its aftermath had been “devastating” for those targeted by online rumors. Following the identification of the actual gunman, she expressed hope that the development would bring an end to the harassment.