Police Investigate Possible Link Between Brown University Shooting And MIT Nuclear Professor Shooting

Could these two shootings be connected?

Police in Rhode Island and Massachusetts are reportedly investigating a possible link between the mass shooting at Brown University and the killing of a MIT nuclear professor.

The reports of a possible link come after investigators revealed a rented vehicle near Brown university at the time of the attack had the same make and model of a car was in the area where the M.I.T. professor was shot dead.

Fox News reported more on the potential link between the two shootings:

Investigators in New England have identified the suspected Brown University shooter and are looking into whether there is a link to the murder of an award-winning nuclear scientist 50 miles away at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, sources tell Fox News.

He remains at large, and authorities have obtained a warrant, according to the sources.

Earlier this week, FBI Boston’s special agent in charge Ted Docks told reporters that investigators were sharing intelligence regarding both cases but had not come up with a clear tie.

Unverified reports in both Providence, Rhode Island, and Brookline, Massachusetts, have described Nissan Sentras at the scene, although they were described as having license plates from different states.

On Thursday, the regional CBS affiliate WPRI-TV reported that senior law enforcement sources said they have discovered evidence of a connection. It’s unclear what that evidence is.

Here’s NYT’s report:

And, according to the NYT, a rental car is what authorities believe is the link between the Brown University shooting and the murder of the MIT professor: https://t.co/PerPbo9pEX https://t.co/gy2Ykox66v pic.twitter.com/av7bphuz6n

— Andrew Tavani (@andrewtavani) December 18, 2025

The New York Times provided the latest update on the search for the suspect of the Brown University shooting:

The authorities on Thursday identified a person of interest in the shooting at Brown University and are investigating whether there is a possible connection to the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, according to two people briefed on the matter not authorized to speak about the investigation.

Investigators are searching for the individual and a car that the person is believed to have rented, one official said. The authorities have not publicly identified a suspect in either case.

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The authorities believe the rented vehicle is the same make and model of a car identified in connection with the shooting of the M.I.T. professor in Brookline, Mass., the official said.

An alert issued to the police in the Boston area directed officers to look for the car, and warned that anyone in it could be armed, dangerous and wanted in connection with the Brookline homicide. The alert did not mention the shooting at Brown.

A few minutes after 4 p.m. last Saturday afternoon, a masked gunman dressed in black burst into a lecture hall in the Barus and Holley science building at Brown, yelled something incomprehensible and started firing at students who had gathered for a review session before final exams. Two students were killed — MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old from Virginia, and Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore from Alabama. Nine other students were injured and six remained hospitalized Thursday afternoon, all in stable condition.

On Monday night, the authorities in Brookline were called to the home of the M.I.T. professor, Nuno F.G. Loureiro, who had been shot and was pronounced dead on Tuesday morning. Ted Docks, the special agent in charge of the F.B.I. in Boston, initially said there seemed to be “no connection” between the attack at Brown and Dr. Loureiro’s death.

The shooting at Brown drew a huge police response of some 400 law enforcement officers who poured onto the campus and into the East Side neighborhood around the Ivy League school on Saturday afternoon. Heavily armed officers searched campus buildings room to room for the killer, while others scoured neighboring streets. Helicopters circled overhead, but the shooter managed to escape.

The police detained a person of interest early Sunday morning, a 24-year-old man, bringing some calm to the jittery city, but it was short-lived. Scientific tests on evidence cleared the man, and he was released.

Local outlet 12 News broke the story:

BREAKING: Authorities just dropped a BOMBSHELL – evidence from the Brown University attack might be CONNECTED to the brutal murder of that MIT Professor. #BrownUniversity #MIT pic.twitter.com/f3XVTUFJrY

— Cece Woods (@cecewoodsmedia) December 18, 2025