The finals study period at Brown University was violently interrupted on December 13, 2025, when a gunman entered the Barus & Holley engineering building and opened fire, killing two students — Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook — and injuring nine others. In the week that followed, fear and uncertainty permeated the campus as a manhunt continued and the Brown community grappled with shock, grief, and questions of safety. Memorials emerged near campus landmarks, vigils brought students, faculty, and neighbors together, and daily routines gave way to collective mourning. The gunman, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, was found dead five days later in a storage facility in New Hampshire after also killing an MIT professor in his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Framed photographs of the two victims Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook rest among the flowers and candles in front of the Van Wickle Gates as the manhunt continues for the gunman, following a shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. December 17, 2025.
Law enforcement officers help direct students off a bus and towards the Nelson Fitness Center and Olney-Margolies Athletic Center to shelter for safety after Brown University was locked down amid reports of a shooting on campus in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. December 13, 2025.
Two people hug outside the Nelson Fitness Center after Brown University was locked down amid reports of a shooting on campus in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. December 13, 2025.
Law enforcement officers canvass Waterman Street as the manhunt continues for the gunman, following a shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. December 15, 2025.
A resident looks out their window to watch the law enforcement officers canvass on Pitman Street as the manhunt continues for the gunman, following a shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. December 15, 2025.
Law enforcement officers work inside the Barus & Holley engineering building as it remains closed while the manhunt continues for the gunman, following a shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. December 17, 2025.
A group of students embrace during a vigil at Lippitt Memorial Park the evening after Brown University was locked down amid reports of a shooting on campus in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. December 14, 2025.
A law enforcement officer removes crime scene tape from Brook Street outside the Barus & Holley engineering building the day after Brown University was locked down amid reports of a shooting on campus in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. December 14, 2025.
Special Agent Canine Handler Brian Oppedisano canvasses with his police dog as the manhunt continues for the gunman, following a shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. December 15, 2025.
Two students hold candles and listen to local artists sing during a vigil at Lippitt Memorial Park the evening after Brown University was locked down amid reports of a shooting on campus in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. December 14, 2025.
The memorial outside the Barus & Holley engineering building continues to grow as the manhunt continues for the gunman, following a shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. December 17, 2025.