Online Tipster Helps Find Alleged Brown University Killer Who Evaded Cops

An online tipster helped authorities find alleged Brown University shooter Claudio Manuel Neves Valente using a post made on Reddit, according to an affidavit from the Providence Police Department.

On Dec. 16, an anonymous source contacted the tip command center referencing a post made on the Providence subreddit, the same affidavit states. The Reddit poster claimed to have seen the suspect and suggested authorities look into a “grey Nissan with Florida plates.”

“I’m being dead serious. The police need to look into a grey Nissan with Florida plates, possibly a rental. That was the car he was driving. It was parked in the little shack behind the Rhode Island Historical Society on the Cooke St. side,” the Reddit user’s post reads in part.

The Reddit user, identified as “John” in the affidavit, approached police and spoke with them on Dec. 17 saying he first encountered the suspect on Dec. 13 in a bathroom inside the Barus Holley building and noticed his clothing was “inappropriate and inadequate for the weather.” “John” said the suspect was also wearing a large face mask that covered the entire lower part of his face.

“John” said he followed the suspect and had an encounter with him near the Rhode Island Historical Society, where he watched the suspect approach either a grey or silver sedan bearing Florida registration plates. A “game of cat and mouse” then occurred between “John” and the suspect, with the suspect repeatedly asking “Why are you harassing me?,” according to the same affidavit.

When detectives showed “John” two security images of the suspect’s car, he said, “Holy sh-t. That might be it.”

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said “John” helped lead authorities to Neves Valente.

“That person led us to the car, which led us to the name, which led us to the photographs of that individual renting the car, which matched the clothing of our shooter here in Providence, that matched the satchel,” Neronha said, according to NBC News. Police connected the car to a vehicle rented on Dec. 1 in downtown Boston, USA Today reported. The renter of the vehicle presented a Florida license matching Neves Valente’s name.

Authorities tracked the car to a New Hampshire storage unit where the suspect was found dead, NBC News reported.

Authorities were also able to link the vehicle to the shooting death of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Nuno Loureiro, according to USA Today. Loureiro was found dead on Dec. 15 in the foyer of his Brookline, Massachusetts apartment building after a neighbor who lived in the unit above his allegedly heard gunshots. (RELATED: Suspected Brown University Shooter Also Allegedly Killed MIT Professor)

In a Dec. 19 press release, Neroha said his goal was to “obtain justice” for the victims of the Brown University shooting.

The suspect opened fire inside a Brown University classroom on Dec. 13 while students were engaged in a final exam review session. Two people were killed.

A spokesperson for the Providence Police Department confirmed the Reddit post from “John” helped authorities to identify Neves Valente.

The Daily Caller also contacted the Neroha office, which did not immediately comment.