Education

Brown University Under Fed’s Microscope Following Fatal Shooting

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The Department of Education (ED) on Monday opened a review into Brown University following the Dec. 13 fatal shooting on campus.

Brown is facing scrutiny for “potential Clery Act violations” after it was revealed the Ivy League’s surveillance system “may not have been up to appropriate standards,” ED said in an announcement. Two students were killed and nine others wounded after 48-year-old Portuguese national Claudio Neves Valente opened fire in a Brown lecture hall.

The security failure allowed “the suspect to flee while the university seemed unable to provide helpful information about the profile of the alleged assassin,” ED claims. Emergency notifications during the shooting were also concerningly delayed.

“After two students were horrifically murdered at Brown University when a shooter opened fire in a campus building, the Department is initiating a review of Brown to determine if it has upheld its obligation under the law to vigilantly maintain campus security,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in ED’s announcement. “Students deserve to feel safe at school, and every university across this nation must protect their students and be equipped with adequate resources to aid law enforcement. The Trump Administration will fight to ensure that recipients of federal funding are vigorously protecting students’ safety and following security procedures as required under federal law.”

The Clery Act requires federally-funded schools to disclose crime data and security policies, including releasing a public Annual Security Report (ASR) to students and staff.

ED is requiring Brown to provide its ASRs from the past two years; all crime, arrest and disciplinary action referral records relating to weapons or drugs from 2021-2024; data relating to the university’s emergency notifications and copies of its policies and procedures.

Valente, who was found dead on Dec. 18 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, is also believed responsible for the murder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Nuno Loureiro. A motive is not yet known, but Valente reportedly has connections to both Brown and Loureiro, having attended the university in 2000 as a doctoral student before later dropping out and previously studying at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Portugal with the MIT professor.

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