A shadow fell over Brown University this week, pierced by the revelation that the shooter, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, entered the United States through a lottery system designed to diversify the nation’s immigrant population. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Valente arrived in 2017, ultimately receiving a green card through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program.
The program, now under scrutiny, grants visas to individuals from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the U.S. Officials are now questioning how a man linked to both a university shooting and a separate murder was permitted entry, sparking a swift directive to pause the program’s operations.
Valente, a Portuguese national, was found deceased on Thursday, the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, bringing a tragic end to a case that gripped the nation. Investigators connected him to the shooting at Brown and the murder of a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, painting a disturbing picture of a troubled individual.
The tragedy has resurrected past concerns about the Diversity Visa program, specifically referencing a 2017 attack in New York City. Then-President Trump had previously sought to end the program following a deadly truck ramming incident carried out by an individual who also entered the country through the DV1 lottery.
Details emerging from Brown University reveal a complex history with the suspect. Valente was once a graduate student in the physics program, enrolling in the fall of 2000 and continuing for three semesters before taking a leave of absence.
His time at Brown concluded in 2003 with a formal withdrawal, leaving no current connection to the university. He never completed a degree, nor was he employed by the institution at the time of the recent events, adding another layer of mystery to the unfolding narrative.
The university president emphasized that Valente had no active affiliation with Brown for over two decades, yet his past connection to the campus casts a somber light on the community as they grapple with the aftermath of the shooting and the questions it raises.
