Authorities are investigating a potential link between two deadly shootings at elite American universities.
A mass shooting at Brown University last Saturday may be connected to the killing of an MIT professor two days later, according to three sources familiar with the inquiry.
Sources confirmed investigators are actively pursuing a person of interest in both attacks – though the suspect has not yet been named.
The FBI had previously said it was unaware of any connection between the incidents.
Brown University is located in Providence, Rhode Island. The second shooting occurred roughly 50 miles north in Brookline, a suburb of Boston.
Two students were killed and nine others wounded when a gunman opened fire in a classroom inside Brown’s engineering building on Saturday before fleeing the scene.
Then, on Monday evening, MIT professor Nuno Loureiro was shot at his home in Brookline.
The 47-year-old physicist and nuclear fusion scientist succumbed to his injuries at hospital the following day.
Prof Loureiro was married and had led MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Centre since last year.
Nearly a week has passed since the Brown attack, yet the perpetrator remains at large.
Authorities say the shooter’s motives are still unknown, with no evidence suggesting any specific individual was targeted in the university attack.
Investigators have released several videos showing a masked figure near the campus before and after the attack, but no clear image of the suspect’s face has emerged.
The individual is described as approximately five feet, eight inches tall with a stocky build.
Despite Brown having 1,200 cameras on campus, the shooting took place in an older section of the engineering building with minimal surveillance coverage.
Police believe the attacker used a door facing a residential street to enter and exit, avoiding detection.
Providence mayor Brett Smiley acknowledged it was “a scary time in the city” and that families were likely discussing whether to remain in town over the holidays.
“We are doing everything we can to reassure folks, to provide comfort, and that is the best answer I can give to that difficult question,” Mr Smiley said when asked about public safety.
Prof Loureiro grew up in Viseu, Portugal, and studied in Lisbon before completing his doctorate in London.
He worked as a researcher at a nuclear fusion institute in Lisbon prior to joining MIT in 2016.
Last year, he was appointed to lead the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, one of MIT’s largest laboratories with more than 250 staff across seven buildings.
He held professorships in physics and nuclear science and engineering, focusing on clean energy technology research.
And in a shady twist, Israeli officials are said to be probing links between Iran and Prof Loureiro’s death according to reports in the Jewish state.
An Israeli investigation was reportedly launched with the professor’s high-profile nuclear research – a notable topic of interest for Tehran – in mind, according to the Jerusalem Post.
