A Tale of Two Murders and a Reddit Detective

How the killings of an MIT fusion scientist and Brown University students became unexpectedly linked

Online speculation around the killing of a prominent fusion energy scientist spread quickly, veering from conspiracy theories to unfounded claims of espionage. But it was an anonymous tip buried on Reddit that ultimately helped investigators connect the crime to another fatal shooting days earlier. The way both cases unfolded, and the policy responses that followed, reveal how violence, misinformation, and politics now intersect in President Trump’s America.

Between Dec. 13-15, two shootings in New England unsettled academic communities and prompted a multi-agency law enforcement response. One took place at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The other occurred at the private residence of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) physics professor, Nuno Loureiro, in Brookline, Massachusetts. While authorities initially treated the incidents as unrelated, further investigation led law enforcement to believe the same shooter committed both crimes.

These cases drew international attention not only because of their violence, but because of who was targeted, where, and within what broader political context. Both Brown and MIT conduct federally funded research and sit at the intersection of higher education, immigration policy, and national security debates that have grown increasingly politicized in recent years.

Brown University Shooting

On Saturday, Dec. 13, a shooting at Brown University left two students, Ella Cook, 19, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, dead. Law enforcement officials did not immediately identify a suspect or motive, and federal authorities became involved early in the investigation. By the end of the weekend, the case remained unresolved, raising concerns across the campus and beyond.

At the time, officials emphasized that there was no indication of a broader threat. However, the lack of clarity surrounding the attack left many questions unanswered.

Killing of MIT Professor, Nuno Loureiro

Those questions intensified on Monday, Dec. 15, when Massachusetts State Police responded to reports of a shooting inside a home on Gibbs Street in Brookline, a residential area with historically low violent crime rates. Inside, officers found Nuno Loureiro, a professor of physics at MIT and director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, dead from gunshot wounds. The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office classified the death as a homicide.

Loureiro had spent more than a decade at MIT, leading research focused on plasma behavior and fusion energy. His work contributed to long-term efforts to develop fusion as a viable clean-energy source, a field that has drawn increasing government and private-sector investment. There is no publicly available evidence that his research involved classified material or foreign government affiliations, despite speculation that circulated following his death.

Case resolution: Reddit breakthrough

The investigation into the Brown University shooting remained stalled for several days, with no suspect publicly identified and limited information released to the public. The breakthrough came on Dec. 16, when investigators received an anonymous tip referencing a Reddit post.