The investigation into the Brown University shooting in the United States has entered its sixth day, with the suspect still at large. On Thursday, authorities stated that they are looking into possible connections between the case and the death of an MIT professor near Boston two days later.
According to reports from the Associated Press, three sources familiar with the investigation revealed the latest developments, requesting anonymity as they are not authorized to discuss the ongoing probe. Two of the sources mentioned that investigators have identified a suspect related to the shooting and are actively pursuing this individual.
Additionally, CNN reported that a law enforcement official close to the case disclosed that the police are investigating whether there is any link between the Brown University shooting last Saturday and the fatal shooting of an MIT professor at his home on Monday.
Authorities are exploring the possibility based on information that has emerged in the past 24 hours, although they stress that this information is not conclusive.
The new information may expand the investigation from isolated incidents to a suspect with possible multiple motives, as these two violent events appear to be separate.
If the two cases are linked, the suspect would have traveled from Providence to Boston, about 50 miles away, to carry out reconnaissance and commit the crimes.
During a press conference on Tuesday, officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) stated that there is no apparent connection between the two crimes.
Last Saturday, the assailant in the Brown University shooting killed two students in a classroom in the engineering building, injuring nine others before fleeing the scene.
On Monday night, about 50 miles north of Brown University, MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro was shot at his home in Boston and passed away in the hospital the following day.
In Providence, where the Brown University shooting took place, frustration is mounting among the people for the attacker’s escape and the lack of a clear facial image.
Authorities have conducted a comprehensive search in the area for evidence and urged the public to review home or vehicle surveillance footage from the week before the attack, believing that the assailant may have passed by. However, there is still no indication that they are close to apprehending the gunman.
Investigators have released several videos captured in the hours and minutes before and after the shooting, showing a masked or partially obscured man in the footage.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley stated on Wednesday that every effort is being made to ensure residents’ safety. He acknowledged that the city is currently going through a “concerning time,” with many families possibly reconsidering whether to stay in the city for the holidays.
Though it is not unheard of for a perpetrator to disappear following such a high-profile shooting, it remains rare.
In the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, it took investigators four days to capture the two brothers responsible. In 2023, Army Reserve soldier Robert Card caused 18 fatalities and 13 injuries in a shooting in Lewiston, Maine, before being found dead two days later, believed to have died by suicide.
In September 2025, a man turned himself in approximately a day and a half after a shooting at Utah State University, where he was charged with killing prominent political figure Charlie Kirk.