Gun violence, Terrorism and senseless killings!!

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Death toll from attack at Michigan church stays at 4 after police sweep charred ruins

GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — In the chaotic moments after a former Marine smashed his pickup truck into a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel in Michigan and began shooting, church members pulled others to safety while smoke filled the building, officials said Monday.

https://apnews.com/article/michigan-church-shooting-fire-mormon-dfe2ce8066e5162c1295e02562aa0e31?

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Mormon Church Shooter Had a Trump Sign Outside His House

Authorities stressed that they have yet to identify a motive for the attack on the Mormon church amid social media speculation.

The Mormon Church shooter who killed at least four people in an attack on Sunday had a Trump sign outside his house and wore MAGA merch.

Public records show that Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, lived in a brick home on the 4100 block of East Atherton Road in Burton, Michigan, a 15-minute drive away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, where he opened fire on hundreds of congregants, killing at least four and wounding eight others.

Authorities said Sanford rammed into the church’s front door with his pickup truck before he started shooting and later set the building on fire. He was killed in a gunfight with two officers within 10 minutes.

A Michigan State Police bomb squad cordoned off Sanford’s block on Sunday afternoon. Images of the suspect’s residence on Google Maps, dated June 2025, show a blue Trump poster hanging on his fence just above a red “stop” sign.

The Trump sign outside his home has fueled heated speculation about his politics. Some social media users have used the Trump placard to claim that he is a Republican, while those across the aisle see the placement of the poster—just above a “stop” sign—as an indication that he wanted to “stop Trump.”

Records show that Sanford has no recorded party affiliation, but Michigan has open primaries, so party registration is not required.

Mark Grebner, a Democratic consultant, told Bridge Michigan that Sanford had signed two petitions: one for the 2021 “Unlock Michigan” effort to repeal Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s pandemic emergency powers, and a 2020 push by Right to Life Michigan to outlaw an abortion procedure.

Kim Vetter with the Michigan state police said any speculations about Sanford’s motives are “exactly what it is—a speculation.”

“We won’t come to those types of conclusions for some time,” she said in a Sunday night press conference.

The White House did not return a request for comment from the Daily Beast.

Trump labeled the attack “horrendous” on Truth Social Sunday, adding that “there was a lot to learn” about the suspect.

“This appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America,” the president wrote. “The Trump Administration will keep the Public posted, as we always do. In the meantime, PRAY for the victims, and their families. THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!”

Since the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk earlier this month, liberals and conservatives have blamed each other’s ideologies for the rise in political violence. Trump has repeatedly pinned the blame on “radical left lunatics,” while Vice President JD Vance and top White House aide Stephen Miller have slammed “left-wing extremism.”

A U.S. Marine Corps spokesperson confirmed to CNN that Sanford was a Marine veteran who served as a mechanic and vehicle recovery operator and was deployed for a year during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

According to a 2007 Clarkston News article about his military career, Sanford followed in the footsteps of his Marine uncle and a grandfather who served in the Navy during World War II.

“He’s a homegrown kid who misses his family when he’s gone,” his father said ahead of his deployment to Iraq at the time. “Jake’s going voluntarily and plans on returning to this community when his service is over. We are very proud of him.”

Bridge Michigan reported that Sanford was a 2003 graduate of Goodrich High School, a hunter, and father to a 10-year-old.

The FBI said Sunday that it was probing the Michigan shooting as “an act of targeted violence.” Authorities have yet to identify a motive.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-sign-spotted-outside-church-shooters-house/?

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'Cowards' killed 3-year-old boy at Sesame Street-themed birthday party, firing more than 20 shots at 'patron' they had beef with in 'drive-by': Cops

A "beef" between men in Florida allegedly led to a "drive-by" shooting at a park that left a 3-year-old boy who was at a kid's birthday party dead, cops say. More than 20 shots were allegedly fired at a "patron" at the party, which had a "Sesame Street" theme.

https://local.newsbreak.com/fort-lauderdale-fl/4261819341001-cowards-killed-3-year-old-boy-at-sesame-street-themed-birthday-party-firing-more-than-20-shots-at-patron-they-had-beef-with-in-drive-by-cops?

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2 killed, 5 wounded when man opened fire in casino parking lot in Texas, authorities say

EAGLE PASS, Texas (AP) — Authorities on Monday were trying to determine why a man opened fire in the parking lot of a casino in a Texas border city over the weekend, killing two people and wounding at least five others.

https://apnews.com/article/deadly-casino-shooting-texas-8a8453ec6ce5d48e2ff36572816afa9c?

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Mormon Church Shooter’s Eerie Conversation Days Before Attack Revealed

A local politician says the suspect had major issues with the Mormons.

A local politician has revealed his chilling conversation with the suspect in the deadly attack on a Mormon church in Michigan just days before the shooting.

Four people were killed and eight were injured when a gunman drove into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel in Grand Blanc on Sunday morning before opening fire and setting the building on fire. The suspect, Thomas Jacob Sanford, was shot dead by police in the car park.

Burton City Council candidate Kris Johns told the Detroit Free Press that it wasn’t until he saw Sanford’s picture on social media that he realized he had been engrossed in a conversation with the suspect just last week.

“There’s certain things you don’t forget,” Johns said. “This is not a forgettable guy.”

Johns met Sanford on Sept. 22 when he was canvassing in the area and knocked on his door. Johns told CNN’s Laura Coates Live on Monday he soon realized that the suspect had a negative reaction to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“He was asking questions about church leaders and the history and the books of the Mormon Bible that are in addition to the traditional Bible,” Johns said of their 20-minute conversation.

“And he just expressed his displeasure at that. And ultimately, one of his final statements to me was that Mormons are the antichrist. And he said that several times.”

However, Johns said the suspect did not seem troubled or violent during their interaction.

“I saw a person who was calm and collected,” Johns said, noting that as a councillor he would have reported any potential risk to police.

“And this person that I spoke with one week ago, while angry, it was contained. I mean, on a scale of, if 10 was an attack on a church, he was at a 1. He was less than a 1.”

Johns also added Sanford did not discuss politics or make any violent statements.

“He was very focused on the Church of Latter-day Saints,” Johns said. “There was a personal held belief. There was a negative interaction that caused him to essentially turn his truck into a missile and destroy the church. And really, as of a week ago, he displayed none of the anger that he exhibited on Sunday morning.”

People who knew the suspect claimed his hatred of the Mormon Church stemmed from a relationship with a church member that ended badly.

“He got this whole fascination with Mormons, and they are the antichrist, and they are going to take over the world,” friend Francis Tersigni told The New York Times.

At Tersigni’s brother’s wedding, “All he could talk about was Mormons. I was like, dude, nobody wants to hear about this stuff.”

Sandra Winter, who was Sanford’s landlord in Utah, recalled how he had fallen in love with an “extremely religious” member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “He wasn’t so sure that he wanted to become a member of the church,” Winter said. “But he really wanted to be with this woman.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that FBI Director Kash Patel told her that Sanford hated Mormons. The FBI called the crime an act of “targeted violence” without pinning down a motive.

“From what I understand, based on my conversations with the FBI director, all they know right now is this was an individual who hated people of the Mormon faith, and they are trying to understand more about this, how premeditated it was, how much planning went into it, whether he left a note,’ Leavitt told Fox News.

The suspect’s mother had posted an ominous message on social media in the days before the massacre, referring to being “hurt” by someone close to her who “constantly avoids accountability.”

It read: “Talking to someone who constantly avoids accountability is not a real conversation—it’s a battle. It’s a cycle of deflection, projection, twisting, and playing the victim."

https://www.thedailybeast.com/mormon-church-shooters-eerie-conversation-days-before-attack/?

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U.S. News

Mormon Church Shooter Had a Trump Sign Outside His House

Authorities stressed that they have yet to identify a motive for the attack on the Mormon church amid social media speculation.

The Mormon Church shooter who killed at least four people in an attack on Sunday had a Trump sign outside his house and wore MAGA merch.

Public records show that Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, lived in a brick home on the 4100 block of East Atherton Road in Burton, Michigan, a 15-minute drive away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, where he opened fire on hundreds of congregants, killing at least four and wounding eight others.

Authorities said Sanford rammed into the church’s front door with his pickup truck before he started shooting and later set the building on fire. He was killed in a gunfight with two officers within 10 minutes.

A Michigan State Police bomb squad cordoned off Sanford’s block on Sunday afternoon. Images of the suspect’s residence on Google Maps, dated June 2025, show a blue Trump poster hanging on his fence just above a red “stop” sign.

The Trump sign outside his home has fueled heated speculation about his politics. Some social media users have used the Trump placard to claim that he is a Republican, while those across the aisle see the placement of the poster—just above a “stop” sign—as an indication that he wanted to “stop Trump.”

Records show that Sanford has no recorded party affiliation, but Michigan has open primaries, so party registration is not required.

Mark Grebner, a Democratic consultant, told Bridge Michigan that Sanford had signed two petitions: one for the 2021 “Unlock Michigan” effort to repeal Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s pandemic emergency powers, and a 2020 push by Right to Life Michigan to outlaw an abortion procedure.

Kim Vetter with the Michigan state police said any speculations about Sanford’s motives are “exactly what it is—a speculation.”

“We won’t come to those types of conclusions for some time,” she said in a Sunday night press conference.

The White House did not return a request for comment from the Daily Beast.

Trump labeled the attack “horrendous” on Truth Social Sunday, adding that “there was a lot to learn” about the suspect.

“This appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America,” the president wrote. “The Trump Administration will keep the Public posted, as we always do. In the meantime, PRAY for the victims, and their families. THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!”

Since the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk earlier this month, liberals and conservatives have blamed each other’s ideologies for the rise in political violence. Trump has repeatedly pinned the blame on “radical left lunatics,” while Vice President JD Vance and top White House aide Stephen Miller have slammed “left-wing extremism.”

A U.S. Marine Corps spokesperson confirmed to CNN that Sanford was a Marine veteran who served as a mechanic and vehicle recovery operator and was deployed for a year during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

According to a 2007 Clarkston News article about his military career, Sanford followed in the footsteps of his Marine uncle and a grandfather who served in the Navy during World War II.

“He’s a homegrown kid who misses his family when he’s gone,” his father said ahead of his deployment to Iraq at the time. “Jake’s going voluntarily and plans on returning to this community when his service is over. We are very proud of him.”

Bridge Michigan reported that Sanford was a 2003 graduate of Goodrich High School, a hunter, and father to a 10-year-old.

The FBI said Sunday that it was probing the Michigan shooting as “an act of targeted violence.” Authorities have yet to identify a motive.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-sign-spotted-outside-church-shooters-house/?

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Gunmen kill two, injure 12 in a shootout in a crowd in Alabama capital city’s downtown

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Rival gunmen shot at each other in a crowded downtown nightlife district in Alabama’s capital city Saturday night, killing two people and injuring 12 others in a chaotic street scene that left authorities trying to find out who started it, police said.

https://apnews.com/article/montgomery-alabama-shootings-0176fd0d7c735e9e63361b0727208115?

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Houston-area shootings at different locations leave 4 dead, including suspect

HOUSTON (AP) — A man is believed to have fatally shot three people at two different locations in the Houston area before killing himself on Wednesday, said police, who are still trying to determine a motive for the shootings.

https://apnews.com/article/houston-area-shootings-73cc4c984f0236dee6d155f46ecee6b0?

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Shooting at packed South Carolina bar kills 4 and injures at least 20 others

ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — A mass shooting early Sunday at a crowded bar on an idyllic island considered to be the largest Gullah community on the South Carolina coast has left four people dead and at least 20 injured, officials said.

https://apnews.com/article/south-carolina-shooting-st-helena-147cdcdee43deff913afa548cf28de6e?

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Mississippi school homecoming celebrations turn deadly as 8 people are killed in separate shootings

LELAND, Miss. (AP) — High school homecoming celebrations in Mississippi ended in gunfire, with two separate shootings on opposite sides of the state Friday night that left at least eight people dead and many more injured, authorities said.

https://apnews.com/article/mississippi-high-school-homecoming-shootings-2e5c0490e8e5aedb596ced6a10ed57c6?

U.S. approaching 340 mass shootings this year after deadly weekend

Twelve people were killed, and at least 40 people were injured after shootings marred three different high school events in two states over the weekend.

https://www.axios.com/2025/10/13/us-mass-shooting-2025?

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4 arrests made in connection with mass shooting that left 6 dead in Mississippi, FBI says

Three people have been arrested on murder charges and a fourth person on an attempted murder charge in a weekend shooting that left six dead and more than a dozen injured in a small Mississippi town, the FBI announced Monday.

https://apnews.com/article/mississippi-high-school-homecoming-shootings-leland-6a059d41bcad85851499c1111cf4caad?

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A family torn apart by gun violence works to turn trauma into hope, prevention and support for others

After the sentencing of Susan Lorincz – the White woman who fatally shot her Black neighbor, Ajike “AJ” Owens, through an apartment door in a dispute over Owens’ children playing near her home – the victim’s mother said her family could finally start to heal.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/16/us/susan-lorincz-ajike-owens-gun-violence?

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Shooting at a historically Black university’s homecoming fest in Pennsylvania kills 1 and wounds 6

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pa. (AP) — Gunfire erupted during outdoor festivities at Pennsylvania’s Lincoln University late Saturday, killing one person and wounding six others as students and alumni celebrated homecoming at the historically Black school, authorities said.

https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-lincoln-university-shooting-ccf6ad727d4d50459a25da591f495fa8?

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College football coach John Beam from ‘Last Chance U’ has died after being shot

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland’s celebrated former football coach John Beam, who was featured in the Netflix series “Last Chance U” that showcased his success with players others wouldn’t gamble on, died Friday, a day after being shot on the college campus where he worked.

https://apnews.com/article/john-beam-shooting-last-chance-u-oakland-arrest-6c398d3216d3f3a5fbbcc85c68030e26?

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2 National Guard members shot in an ambush attack just blocks from the White House

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two West Virginia National Guard members who deployed to the nation’s capital were shot Wednesday afternoon just blocks from the White House in a brazen act of violence that the mayor described as a targeted attack.

https://apnews.com/article/national-guard-shooting-dc-c5785dd8920d2d1ac7d71fab769faf5f?

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Suspect in Washington DC national guard shooting had ties to CIA, agency confirms

The suspected shooter of two national guard members in Washington DC on Wednesday worked with CIA-backed military units during the US war in Afghanistan, the agency has confirmed.

https://www.newsbreak.com/news/4369500197992-suspect-in-washington-dc-national-guard-shooting-had-ties-to-cia-agency-confirms?

Trump says one of the two West Virginia National Guard members shot by Afghan national has died

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) — President Donald Trump said that one of the two West Virginia National Guard members shot by an Afghan national near the White House had died, calling the suspect, who had worked with the CIA in his native country, a “savage monster.”

https://apnews.com/article/national-guard-shooting-white-house-afghan-national-138fbe6872d7ac30b20973783b39002c?

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Suspect in shooting of National Guard members faces murder charge as US halts all asylum decisions

WASHINGTON (AP) — Charges against the man accused of shooting two National Guard members have been upgraded to first-degree murder after one of the soldiers died, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia announced Friday, while investigators continued to seek a motive.

https://apnews.com/article/national-guard-shooting-suspect-585e36855d1dddd3e801708987c776c0?

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Investigators plead for tips after 3 children, 1 adult killed in shooting at child’s birthday party

STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) — Authorities in California appealed to the public for tips, cellphone video, witness accounts and even rumors as they searched Sunday for a suspect in the killing of three children and an adult during a mass shooting at a child’s birthday party.

https://apnews.com/article/stockton-california-shooting-b59e32ae53716a0dfe9f28c246552607?

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? Mass killings hit lowest level in 19 years

Bullet holes near the site of a mass shooting Saturday at a banquet hall in Stockton, Calif. Four people were killed, including children ages 8, 9 and 14. Photo: Jeff Chiu/AP

A shooting this past weekend at a children's birthday party in Northern California, which left four dead, was America's 17th mass killing this year — the lowest number since 2006, according to a database maintained by AP and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. Mass killings — incidents in which four or more people are killed in a 24-hour period, not including the killer — are down 24% this year compared to 2024, which was a 20% drop from 2023, AP reports. 82% of this year's mass killings involved a gun. ? Between the lines: Factors likely include an overall decline in homicide and violent crime rates, which peaked during COVID. Improvements in the immediate response to mass shootings and other mass casualty incidents could also be playing a part. ? More states are funding school threat assessments, with 22 states mandating the practice in recent years, and that could be preventing some school shootings. None of this year's mass killings took place in schools. Only one mass killing at a school was recorded in 2024. Reality check: Experts warn the drop doesn't necessarily mean safer days are here to stay. The Gun Violence Archive says there have been 381 mass shootings so far this year — distinct from mass killings. James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University who manages the database, said the current drop is likely what statisticians call a "regression to the mean" — a return to more average crime levels after an unusual spike in mass killings in 2018 and 2019. James Densley, chair of criminology at Metro State University in Minnesota, warned that a small change in a year's data "could look like a wave or a collapse ... 2025 looks really good in historical context." Keep reading.

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Campus shooting

One student is dead and another remains in critical condition following a shooting at Kentucky State University on Tuesday. Police said a 48-year-old suspect from Indiana, who is not a student, was arrested moments after opening fire. Authorities are now investigating what Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called an isolated attack on the historically Black university. It is the 73rd shooting on school grounds this year, most of which took place on college campuses. The incidents have left at least 29 people dead and more than 100 other victims injured, according to a CNN analysis.   Shooting at Kentucky State University leaves 1 dead, 1 hurt and a suspect in custody, officials say Shooting at Kentucky State University leaves 1 dead, 1 hurt and a suspect in custody, officials say https://apnews.com/article/kentucky-state-university-shooting-976289946dde326a7e9f97a62bb2f82d?

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Police search Brown University after shooter kills 2 and wounds 9 on campus

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A shooter dressed in black killed at least two people and wounded nine others at Brown University on Saturday during final exams on the Ivy League campus, authorities said, and police were searching for the suspect.

https://apnews.com/article/brown-university-active-shooter-c7c9d1c7da19a76c2a27685c7e63d6da?

Police have person of interest in custody over Brown University shooting that killed 2, wounded 9

Police in Rhode Island say they have a person of interest in custody after a shooting at Brown University killed two students and wounded nine others. The incident happened Saturday afternoon in a classroom during final exams. The shooting paralyzed the campus, with students sheltering in place for hours. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

A list of deadly shootings on college campuses in the US Photos show police investigation of a shooting at Brown University

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Authorities say they will release person of interest detained in Brown University shooting

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A person of interest detained after a Brown University shooting that killed two students and injured nine will be released after law enforcement authorities determined there was no basis to keep the individual in custody, officials said Sunday night.

https://apnews.com/article/brown-university-shooting-suspect-search-1da03b12b2eac2b530172667d3df30c4?

Brown University Shooting

A gunman who targeted students at Brown University Saturday remained at large yesterday, after authorities said they would release a person of interest from custody. The gunman, who has yet to be publicly identified, killed two people and wounded nine others, with one of the wounded victims in critical condition as of this writing. See live updates here. At roughly 4 pm ET, a masked gunman entered the university's engineering building and opened fire on people in the hallway. He then entered the first-floor lecture hall, where a group of about 60 students was wrapping up an economics study session. Some students managed to escape through the room's side doors, while many were shot while hiding under desks. Law enforcement officials say the attacker fired more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun before fleeing. The introductory class, Principles of Economics, has 475 registered students, of whom over 80% are freshmen.  The attack follows deadly shootings this year at Kentucky State University, Utah Valley University, and Florida State University. Learn about recent college campus shootings here.

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Search for the Brown University shooter continues as questions swirl about campus security

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Authorities knocked on doors and scoured yards Monday in search of any video or other evidence that might lead them to the Brown University gunman, whose face was covered or not visible in footage captured before and after the weekend attack that killed two students and wounded nine others.

https://apnews.com/article/brown-university-shooting-investigation-b08f1fdf5e71542f6e93bbba05fa043c?

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Brown University manhunt

As the manhunt for the Brown University gunman enters another day without a suspect in custody, authorities stress that community tips are crucial to resolving the case. Police on Wednesday asked for the public's help identifying a person shown in a photo who crossed paths with the person of interest. Authorities also released a map showing the streets where the person of interest was present in the hours before Saturday's attack. Meanwhile, limited security camera footage around the campus building where the attack occurred has spurred questions, including from the White House. The shooting left two students dead and nine injured at the Ivy League school.

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Man suspected in Brown University shooting and MIT professor’s killing is found dead, officials say

A frantic search for the suspect in last weekend’s mass shooting at Brown University ended Thursday at a New Hampshire storage facility where authorities discovered the man dead inside and then revealed he also was suspected of killing a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor.

https://apnews.com/article/brown-university-shooting-investigation-5b0b254442dd77d9056111bad902de33?

Brown, MIT shooting suspect found dead

FBI agents arrive at the Extra Space Storage facility in Salem, N.H., where the suspected shooter was found. Photo: Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images The suspect in the Brown University mass shooting — and in the killing of an MIT professor two days later — was found dead in Salem, N.H., officials announced last night. Police identified the man as Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national and former Brown student. Valente was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a Salem storage unit, officials said. He briefly pursued a Ph.D in physics at Brown — from 2000 to 2001 — before withdrawing, and authorities believe he attended Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, the same university where Nuno F.G. Loureiro, the killed MIT professor, studied, N.Y. Times reports. A makeshift memorial near Brown's campus for Mukhammad Aziz Amurzokov and Ella Cook, the two students killed in Saturday's mass shooting. Photo: Bing Guan/AFP via Getty Images The investigation is ongoing, and officials said the motive for the attacks remains unclear. Get the latest.