Brown U shooter cased campus for weeks before massacre, custodian told cops after Reddit post

 Brown University gunman Claudio Neves Valente was able to fly under the radar and stake out the Ivy League school for several weeks before he carried out his deadly attack, court documents revealed.

A school custodian came forward as this week’s sensational developments in the case were unfolding to say he had spotted a “suspicious person” lurking around the school’s engineering building both Nov. 28 and Dec. 1, according to a 35-page affidavit.

It’s unclear if the worker’s concern went any further, but a review of surveillance video from the area confirmed the soon-to-be killer was in the vicinity of the building Dec. 1, just hours after he picked up a rental car in downtown Boston and drove to the Rhode Island institution, according to authorities.

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CCTV footage of Claudio Neves Valente at an Alamo rental car location in Boston.Providence Police Department/AFP via Getty Images

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Brown University gunman Claudio Neves Valente staked out the Ivy League school for weeks.AP

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Security camera footage of the Brown University shooting suspect, walking across the street from 144 Waterman St.Providence Police

The custodian told investigators he had encountered the man, who was wearing a surgical mask and was walking with a limp, during his shifts between 3 p.m. and sunset, the filing said.

Two weeks later, on Dec. 13, surveillance footage captured the same person — Valente — circling the building before he ultimately went inside and opened fire, killing two students.

On Monday, Valente then murdered an MIT professor about 50 miles away before killing himself, with his body found in a storage unit on Thursday night.

The custodian’s sightings occurred before a heroic homeless man — only identified as John — came forward to tell cops he had seen the perp acting suspiciously in areas surrounding the school before the bloodshed.

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Dec. 13, surveillance footage captured the same person — Valente — circling the building before he went inside.Providence Police

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20608 NE Seventh Court, Miami-Dade, FL, is a secondary address for Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente.Romain Maurice for the NYPost

The worker went to the cops after learning of John’s report, the documents said.

John, who had apparently been sleeping in the building’s basement, said he first encountered the shooter in a bathroom before having a strange “cat and mouse” interaction with him as he followed him around the neighborhood.

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Homeless man John’s tip about Valente’s car led cops to the killer, who died by suicide.Matthew Healey/UPI/Shutterstock

The homeless man later provided details on the suspect’s car that authorities say ultimately led them to Valente.

The details were laid bare in court documents as authorities disclosed Thursday that the suspect, a former Brown student and a Portuguese national, had been found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot following a days-long manhunt.

https://nypost.com/2025/12/19/us-news/brown-university-shooter-claudio-neves-valente-cased-campus-for-weeks-before-massacre-custodian-told-cops/