The gunman responsible for both the Brown University mass shooting and the killing of an MIT Professor left four confessional videos on a device after he carried out the shootings.
The FBI found the device after a nearly weeklong manhunt inside the storage locker where the gunman, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Department of Justice released a transcript of the videos on Tuesday, translating Neves Valente’s words from Portuguese to English.
“In these videos, Neves Valente admitted that he had been planning the Brown University shooting for a long time. Although Neves Valente stated that Brown University was his intended target, based on initial review of the evidence collected, he did not provide a motive for targeting students at Brown University or the professor at MIT,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a statement.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office statement said that the gunman “exposed his true nature when he blamed innocent, unarmed children for their deaths at his hand and grumbled about a self-inflicted injury he suffered when he shot the MIT professor at close range”.
In the recording transcript, Neves Valente, a former Brown University student, said he did not regret his actions.
“To say that I was extraordinarily satisfied, no, I also don’t regret what I did,” Neves Valente said.
According to federal investigators, Neves Velente was responsible for both the Brown University mass shooting that killed two students and injured nine and the murder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nuno Loureiro, each of which occurred in December. Authorities believe Neves Velente and Loureiro previously knew each other and studied together in Portugal.
The gunman said he had planned the Brown shooting for six semesters. He said he “never wanted to do it in an auditorium” and wanted to target a “regular room,” citing the presence of an emergency exit in the auditorium.
“I had plenty of opportunities, especially this semester, I had plenty of opportunities, but I always chickened out,” Neves Valente said. “So, it all went wrong.”
Neves Valente also discussed a moment when a man confronted him around the time of the Brown shooting.
“Since I was almost confronted by a guy there that day… not almost, I actually was confronted and he knew my… my… my license plate, I honestly never thought it would take them so long to find me,” Neves Valente said.
BROWN-MIT SHOOTING SUSPECT STUDIED WITH MURDERED PROFESSOR IN PORTUGAL, AUTHORITIES SAY
The Department of Justice said the investigation into the shooting and the gunman’s motives is ongoing.
“Our investigation into the motives behind Neves Valente’s heinous acts will continue,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement said.