Brown University, MIT shootings: Are elite US universities prepared for targeted violence?

Two deadly shootings astatine elite American universities wrong 50 miles of each different earlier this week person been linked to a azygous fishy with escaped ties to some targets, according to authorities.

Had helium been stopped aft sidesplitting 2 Brown University students and injuring 9 more, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology prof prosecutors accidental helium killed 2 days aboriginal would inactive beryllium alive.

Critics person blasted Brown implicit an evident deficiency of surveillance video from the Barus and Holley building, wherever the wide shooting claimed the lives of Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov. The gunman skipped municipality earlier constabulary identified him, walking close by field cops successful the minutes aft the shooting, location information video taken from the different extremity of the artifact reveals.

But galore large universities person akin information flaws, experts archer Fox News Digital.

NEIGHBORS OF SLAIN MIT PROFESSOR STUNNED BY KILLING

A divided representation shows Claudio Neves-Valente, identified arsenic the Brown University gunman, wearing the aforesaid overgarment arsenic a antheral identified earlier arsenic a idiosyncratic of involvement successful the case. (Providence Police Department)

"By and large, American universities are wholly open," said David Katz, a erstwhile DEA cause and the CEO of Global Security Group, a backstage information steadfast founded successful the aftermath of 9/11. "Pick a field you can't conscionable locomotion randomly into, an world gathering you can't conscionable participate and the schoolroom you can't access."

Katz, who teaches active-shooter effect classes astir the country, said helium recovered it disconcerting erstwhile helium dropped his ain lad disconnected for assemblage and was told the assemblage constabulary section astatine his caller schoolhouse did not mandate akin grooming for its field cops. 

Providence Police officers caput into the Barus and Holley gathering connected the field of Brown University connected Dec. 16, 2025.  (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

After evading seizure extracurricular the Brown massacre connected Saturday, Neves-Valente drove 50 miles distant to Brookline, Massachusetts, and gunned down renowned atomic physicist Nuno Loureiro successful his flat Monday evening, according to authorities.

The motive remains unclear, but Neves-Valente concisely attended Brown backmost successful 2000 and 2001 and, earlier that, besides studied astatine the aforesaid Portuguese assemblage wherever Loureiro earned his undergraduate degree.

Brown President Christina Paxson told reporters Thursday that Neves-Valente apt took physics classes astatine Barus and Holley during his clip arsenic a student.

Split representation showing Brown University victims Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, alongside MIT prof Nuno Loureiro, who was killed. (Instagram/elinacoutlakis/GoFundMe/Jake Belcher for MIT)

"While Brown remains committed to searching each organization systems to place immoderate pertinent accusation to assistance instrumentality enforcement, we person frankincense acold recovered nary denotation of immoderate concerns pertaining to behaviour oregon immoderate nationalist information interactions during the abbreviated clip Neves Valente was enrolled arsenic a postgraduate pupil astatine Brown," she wrote aboriginal successful an unfastened letter. "As of yet, we person not identified immoderate worker who recalls Neves Valente, nor is determination immoderate Brown grounds of caller interaction betwixt this idiosyncratic and Brown."

NOEM ANNOUNCES PAUSE ON IMMIGRANT VISA LOTTERY THAT ALLOWED ALLEGED BROWN SHOOTER TO ENTER US

The Brookline flat gathering wherever MIT prof Nuno F. G. Loureiro was changeable earlier this week was seen Thursday morning. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)

The slayings people the latest field unit successful a twelvemonth that's seen plenty. Here are conscionable a few:

• In April, 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner allegedly killed 2 and injured six astatine Florida State University successful Tallahassee.
• The aforesaid month, constabulary said a 24-year-old gunman killed 1 and wounded six astatine Elizabeth City State University successful North Carolina.
• In September, 20-year-old Tyler Robinson allegedly drove hours from his location successful confederate Utah earlier fatally shooting Turning Point USA laminitis Charlie Kirk successful the cervix during a field code astatine Utah Valley University successful Orem.
• More unit broke retired successful December, with 2 students changeable astatine Kentucky State University successful Frankfort. One of them died. Days later, Neves-Valente began his New England execution spree.

BROWN UNIVERSITY SHOOTING: TIMELINE OF TERROR THAT LEFT 2 DEAD, 9 INJURED

"There person been a fig of shootings connected assemblage campuses that should alert each main of constabulary and surely each assemblage president, that they should beryllium looking astatine this contented precise seriously," said Greg Rogers, a erstwhile FBI cause who teaches transgression justness astatine UVU, wherever Kirk was killed. "That being said, I don’t wanna dependable naïve astir it. Unfortunately, assemblage campuses request to beryllium unfastened spaces similar that."

Charlie Kirk speaks astatine Utah Valley University connected Sept. 10, 2025, successful Orem, Utah. Kirk, laminitis of Turning Point USA, was speaking astatine his "American Comeback Tour" erstwhile helium was changeable successful the cervix and killed.  (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)

Additional cameras, however, whitethorn person helped halt Neves-Valente earlier helium killed Loureiro — but they wouldn't person saved the Brown students, helium said.

"We unrecorded successful a satellite where, I've learned this successful my undercover career…that’s not thing you tin halt with other cops connected field oregon immoderate much video cameras," helium told Fox News Digital. 

This has unfolded successful a twelvemonth that saw wide anti-Israel field demonstrations that prompted clashes betwixt constabulary and pro-Palestinian agitators arsenic good arsenic legislature hearings.

People tally aft a changeable was fired during an quality by Charlie Kirk astatine Utah Valley University connected Sept. 10, 2025, successful Orem, Utah. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)

Police successful riot cogwheel adjacent stormed a gathering astatine different Ivy League assemblage earlier this twelvemonth aft agitators broke into and barricaded themselves wrong Hamilton Hall astatine Columbia University successful New York City.

Outside of school, Ivy League alumnus Luigi Mangione is accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson to nonstop a connection astir the U.S. wellness security industry.

Experts person questioned Brown's actions successful the aftermath of the shooting, confusing property conferences, and the information that nary cameras wrong Barus and Holley are believed to person recorded Neves-Valente, based connected what authorities said astatine property briefings.

New York Police Department officers detain dozens of pro-Palestinian students astatine Columbia University aft they barricaded themselves astatine the Hamilton Hall gathering adjacent Gaza Solidarity Encampment earlier successful New York connected April 30, 2024. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"We cognize however schools fell a batch of worldly but something's brewing here," said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and an adjunct prof of transgression justness astatine Penn State-Lehigh Valley. "Why did they scrub the website of that 1 guy? You're conscionable adding to the conspiracy theories."

MIT PROFESSOR SHOT, KILLED IN BROOKLINE HOME: WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT BOSTON-AREA ATTACK

At points successful the investigation, web sleuths wrongly asserted that a existent Brown pupil whitethorn person been the suspect. Investigators rejected the notion, but aggregate "spotlight" articles connected the assemblage website were scrubbed from nationalist presumption without explanation, prompting further criticism.

Federal prosecutors successful Massachusetts released this representation showing the antheral identified successful deadly shootings astatine some Brown University successful Rhode Island and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology successful Cambridge. (Justice Department)

Police aboriginal recovered the existent slayer dormant of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He attended Brown, briefly, much than 2 decades ago.

"It needs to beryllium a nationalist treatment by each of the colleges and their campuses connected however they grip security," Giacalone told Fox News Digital. "Colleges similar to grip things with kid gloves due to the fact that they are institutions of higher learning, but astatine what cost?"

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News' Jasmine Baehr and Peter D'Abrosca contributed to this report.