Shootings at Brown University, MIT ‘cracked’ by homeless hero now ‘entitled’ to $50K reward: feds
A homeless man has been praised for helping authorities solve the shootings at Brown University and MIT by confronting the gunman in person, and federal officials say he now qualifies for a hefty $50,000 reward.
The tipster, who goes by John, played a pivotal role in identifying Claudio Neves Valente, the 48‑year‑old suspect, after he supplied crucial details about the suspect’s car during a strange run‑in on the day of the shootings.
“We blew this case wide open,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha remarked, applauding John’s contribution.
Before John’s lead surfaced, police had struggled to pinpoint the killer who first took two Brown students and then later shot a professor at MIT.
It wasn’t certain whether the unnamed tipster would receive the offered reward, but FBI special agent Ted Docks confirmed that he should be eligible.
“This would be logical, absolutely, that this individual is entitled to that,” Docks said when queried.
John first announced his insight on Reddit after spotting images of the suspect released by authorities following Saturday’s tragedy.
“I’m being dead serious,” the Reddit post read, according to court documents.
“The police need to investigate a grey Nissan with Florida plates, possibly a rental.”
“I know because he used his key fob to unlock the car, approached it, and then something prompted him to back away,” John added.
“When he backed away, he relocked the car. I found that odd, so when he circled the block, I approached the car—that’s when I saw the Florida plates.”
At that time, investigators had no information about a vehicle that might be linked to the attacker.
After John’s photo was shared by police as a face they were looking for, he met with investigators and recounted a bizarre “cat‑and‑mouse” encounter with the gunman on the day of the attack.
He claimed he met Neves Valente in the Brown engineering building’s bathroom just hours before the shooting and noted that the suspect’s attire was “inappropriate and inadequate for the weather.”
Fox News reported that John was staying in the basement of the same building during that period.
Later, he bumped into Neves Valente outside and decided to follow him, according to his affidavit.
At one point, John says he shouted, “Your car is back there, why are you circling the block?”
“The suspect responded, ‘I don’t know you from nobody,’ then repeatedly asked, ‘Why are you harassing me?’,” the court files state.
Drawing from John’s testimony, authorities examined additional surveillance footage that eventually led them to the gunman.
Less than a day later, investigators discovered Neves Valente dead from a self‑inflicted gunshot.
“When you crack it, you crack it,” the attorney general reiterated.
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