Brown University Police Chief Placed on Leave After Deadly Campus Shooting as Ivy League School Reevaluates Safety Policies By Dave Quinn

Brown University has placed its campus police chief on administrative leave and announced a sweeping review of its safety and security policies following a deadly on-campus shooting earlier this month.

It comes as the U.S. Department of Education announced that it will conduct its own formal review of Brown University’s security and emergency notification systems through the department’s Office of Federal Student Aid. The federal review will examine whether the university complied with the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act, which governs how colleges and universities handle campus safety reporting and emergency alerts in order to remain eligible for federal student aid.

In a message sent to the Brown community on Monday, Dec. 22, university president Christina H. Paxson said the school will commission two external reviews in response to the Dec. 13 shooting that left two students dead and nine others wounded.

The alleged gunman, identified as Claudio Neves Valente, 48, was found dead in a storage unit in Salem, N.H., on Thursday, Dec. 18, after a lengthy manhunt. Authorities believe he’s also linked to the death of Nuno Loureiro, an MIT professor who was fatally shot inside his home in Brookline, Mass., two days after Valente opened fire on Brown’s campus in Providence, R.I.

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According to the university, the first review will be an external after-action assessment examining campus safety in the period leading up to the shooting, the university’s preparedness and response during the incident, and emergency management efforts in the aftermath. A second, broader external review will assess Brown’s overall campus safety and security policies, procedures, infrastructure and training.

Both reviews will be overseen by a committee of the Corporation of Brown University, the school’s governing body, which will also approve the selection of the external organizations conducting the assessments, Paxson said. The university said it plans to share key findings from the reviews with both the campus community and the public.

As part of the after-action review, Vice President for Public Safety and Emergency Management, Rodney Chatman, has been placed on administrative leave, effective immediately, Paxson said.

Hugh T. Clements, a former chief of the Providence Police Department, has been appointed interim vice president for public safety and chief of police. Clements will assume day-to-day leadership of the department and report directly to Paxson during the review process.

“A thorough After-Action Review is an essential part of any recovery and response following a mass casualty event like the one that has devastated our campus,” Paxson wrote, calling the process “standard” following such tragedies.

The university also said a rapid response team is prioritizing immediate safety measures during winter break and ahead of the Spring 2026 semester, which begins on Jan. 6.

Those steps include sustaining an increased presence of campus police officers, public safety personnel and security guards across buildings, pedestrian corridors and gathering areas, as well as expanded patrols through interagency cooperation with multiple law enforcement agencies, according to the university.

Brown said it is also accelerating the conversion of remaining key-based buildings to card-access entry, expanding campus camera coverage — including the installation of additional cameras and blue light phones with integrated technology — and increasing the use of panic alarms and duress systems, particularly in front-facing service areas and late-night operations such as dining facilities.

University officials added that security plans for athletic events, large gatherings and other high-attendance activities will continue to be reviewed and adjusted as the campus prepares for the phased return of students, faculty and staff in the new semester.

The Dec. 13 shooting at Brown killed students Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook. Of the nine wounded students, all but two, Paxson noted, have since been discharged from the hospital.

On Monday, Derek Lisi — who has worked as a custodian at Brown for over a decade — told The Boston Globe and WPRI he had seen the suspected shooter pacing the hallways and peering into classrooms multiple times, weeks before the attack. He claimed he reported his suspicions twice to a campus security guard.

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In her letter, Paxson acknowledged the fear and anxiety within the community following the shooting, writing that Brown is “unwavering” in its commitment to campus safety.

“I have written and spoken to hundreds of students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni since the tragic events of Dec. 13. The concerns our community has about safety and security are real. And I share them,’ Paxson added. “As we work to heal and recover, our primary focus is to nurture a thriving campus by attending to the psychological and social health of all members of our community while we also demonstrate that Brown is still Brown — a safe, inclusive, caring community of talented students and scholars and dedicated staff.”