Calls grow for homeless man who led investigators to Brown mass shooter to receive $50,000 reward

Tim Dunn, Boston Herald on Dec 20, 2025

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BOSTON — Public calls are growing for the FBI to give its promised $50,000 reward to a homeless man who provided information essential to leading authorities to the gunman they say killed two Brown University students and an MIT professor

Authorities say they received a tip from an anonymous source on Tuesday about a Reddit post on the Providence subreddit, according to a law enforcement affidavit from the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office. That post eventually led investigators to a New Hampshire storage facility where they found the suspect dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. That man was identified Thursday as Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente.

The post’s author was a homeless man, only known as John, who had been living in the basement of Brown University’s Barus and Holley engineering building where students Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook lost their lives and nine others were wounded in the Dec. 13 shooting. The same shooter is suspected of murdering MIT professor Nuno Loureiro at his Brookline home two days later.

Authorities, over the course of two press conferences Thursday night, disclosed that Neves-Valente, then on a student visa, had been a physics graduate student at Brown for three semesters between 2000 and 2001, ultimately withdrew from the program in 2003 and had no further association with the school. Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said Neves-Valente and Loureiro had also attended college together in their home country of Portugal in the 1990s but did not know if they had remained in contact since then.

Will there be a payout?

Until John’s tip, investigators had been struggling to ID the gunman. The FBI had offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the shooter, but the question remains if the outcome of finding the killer dead may prove an obstacle in collecting the money.

“It would be logical to think that, absolutely, that individual would be entitled to that,” Boston FBI Special Agent in Charge Ted Docks said during a Thursday press conference when asked about the possibility.

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley is also calling on the FBI to pay John the reward money, sending a letter to Director Kash Patel on Friday.

“I believe that our community is breathing easier today because of the extraordinary assistance John provided to our law enforcement agencies. I am writing you today to request that the entirety of the $50,000 reward be issued to his incredible Providence neighbor,” Smiley said.

“He blew this case right open,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said during the Thursday night press conference. “That person led us to the car, which led us to the name, which led us to the photographs of that individual renting the car, which matched the clothing of our shooter here in Providence, which matched the satchel that we see here in Providence.”

The FBI did not indicate whether the payout to John has been made or if it would be made, citing agency protocol for not disclosing the recipient’s identity.

“The FBI maintains longstanding policy not to confirm the identity of individuals who assist the FBI by providing tips or information,” an agency spokesperson said. “Additionally, the FBI will not comment on whether reward money has been paid and to whom.”

John speaks

John, under his Reddit username “lamin_kaare” posted an update to his profile as police continued the manhunt, saying that investigators were using his tip to close in on the suspect.

“All the law enforcement personnel that I interacted with today were extremely professional and worked hard to really put me at ease. Respectfully, I have said all I have to say on the matter to the right people,” John said, adding that he will not be accepting media requests for interviews.

“Thank you for your time and let’s hope the POI is apprehended soon so the authorities can get to the bottom of this. Hopefully you all are able to enjoy the holidays with your family and loved ones but if you are not may the following days treat you kindly,” he said.

Reddit users replied to the update, telling John he deserves the $50,000 reward and thanking him for being a “hero” for Providence.

“Thank you for the update and for your service. I’ve been plugging the Providence subreddit to anyone who will listen to me for this reason and that you deserve the $50K,” said one user.

“You are a hero!!” wrote another. “I know this community wants to thank you in some way — new phone, buying you dinner, making sure you get that reward money. I have an extra room, south of providence, no questions asked if you need somewhere to go.”