In the wake of the deadly Brown University shooting, President Donald Trump has suspended the U.S. green card lottery program, also known as the Diversity Visa (DV1) program. The decision comes after the suspect, Claudio Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national, was linked to the mass shooting that killed two students and injured nine others.

Details of the Suspect

Valente, who was found dead in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, entered the United States through the green card lottery in 2017 and was granted a permanent resident visa. Authorities believe he also killed MIT professor Nuno F. Gomes Loureiro, 47, two days after the Brown University attack.

Brown University President Christina Paxson confirmed that Valente had studied at the Ivy League school from autumn 2000 to spring 2001 while pursuing a PhD in physics. Paxson emphasized that Valente had no active affiliation with the university at the time of the shootings.

Homeland Security Response

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the program has been paused under President Trump’s direction, stating it is to “ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.” Noem added that Trump had previously attempted to end the lottery in 2017 after a truck-ramming attack in New York City, carried out by Uzbekistan national Sayfullo Saipov, who entered the U.S. through the same program.

The green card lottery program provides up to 50,000 visas annually, randomly selected among applicants from countries with historically low immigration rates to the United States.

Investigation and Law Enforcement Efforts

Authorities conducted a six-day multi-state manhunt to locate Valente. Police matched his identity through CCTV footage at a car rental facility and tips from the public. He was found dead with a satchel and two firearms, and evidence in a nearby vehicle connected him to the Brown University shooting. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha confirmed the link between Valente and the Providence crime scene.

Both shootings were linked when police identified Valente’s vehicle near the MIT professor’s home in Brookline, Massachusetts, about 50 miles from Providence. Authorities have not yet released a motive for either attack.

Impact on Brown University

The Brown University shooting occurred on December 13, 2025, at the Barus & Holley engineering building during final exams. The victims were identified as:

• Ella Cook, 19, a second-year student from Alabama
• Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, an Uzbek-American first-year student

Nine other students were injured, with six remaining hospitalized. The attack has prompted increased scrutiny of campus security measures and raised concerns about broader immigration and public safety policies in the U.S.