Suspected Brown and MIT professor shooter showed signs of anger, former friend says

A former friend of the man accused in the deadly Brown University shooting and and alleged killing of an MIT professor described him as a “socially awkward” person who showed signs of anger during their time on the campus in Providence, Rhode Island.

Authorities said Claudio Manuel Neves Valente opened fired inside the Barus & Holley building at Brown University on Dec. 13, killing students Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and wounding nine others.

On Dec. 15, investigators said that Valente went to Brookline, Massachusetts, and shot and killed Nuno Loureiro, an MIT nuclear science and engineering professor from Portugal.

Former friend describes Claudio Manuel Neves Valente

Valente, a Portuguese national whose last known residence was in Florida, was found dead in New Hampshire after a manhunt that lasted for days.

Scott Watson is professor of physics at Syracuse University. He said he met the accused shooter when they both studied at Brown from 2000 to 2001.

Watson described his former friends as “socially awkward.”

“During his time at Brown, I was essentially his only friend. He was socially awkward, and so was I, which I think is why we connected. During orientation he was sitting alone, and I walked up and said hello. He was terse at first, but we eventually broke the ice and became close,” Watson told CBS News Boston by email.

“Maybe the signs were always there,” friend says

Watson said the alleged gunman often complained about moving to the United States, and about Brown.

“He would say the classes were too easy — honestly, for him they were. He already knew most of the material and was genuinely impressive. I remember him getting irritated about the quality of food on campus, especially the lack of high-quality fish,” Watson said.

Watson said the last time he spoke to his former friend was 2003.

“He told me he was returning to Portugal, though it now appears that may not have been the case,” Watson said.

Watson said that the suspected gunman could be kind, but added “he often became frustrated — sometimes angry — about courses, professors, and living conditions.”

In a separate interview with CNN, Watson said that he was surprised to learn his former friends was the accused shooter, but that in retrospect it made sense.

“After a long day of conversations today, I realize maybe the signs were always there,” Watson said.