Crime
Mustapha Kharbouch Now-Deleted 2024 Manifesto Published in Institute for Palestine Studies Recovered
UPDATE: Statements have been released by the legal team representing Mustapha Kharbouch, a Brown University student who was falsely accused on social media of involvement in the recent mass shooting on campus.
Authorities have since identified the actual suspect, and there is no evidence linking Kharbouch to the attack.
In a formal press statement, Kharbouch’s attorneys said their client has been subjected to an intense and harmful online smear campaign following the shooting, which left two students dead and several others injured.
The legal team emphasized that Mustapha Kharbouch is a respected and exemplary member of the Brown University community, describing him as an exceptional student and an engaged global citizen.
They stated that, for more than a week, Kharbouch was targeted by a disturbing wave of racist, Islamophobic, and anti-Palestinian harassment, including efforts to falsely associate him with the tragedy solely because of his Palestinian identity.
According to the statement, these baseless allegations not only damaged Kharbouch’s reputation, but also risked diverting law enforcement attention from legitimate investigative leads at a critical time.
The legal team confirmed that, prior to the identification of the actual suspect, they fully cooperated with law enforcement, responding to inquiries regarding Kharbouch’s whereabouts on the day of the shooting.
The attorneys directly attributed the online attacks to anti-Palestinian racism, stating that bad-faith actors attempted to assign blame to Kharbouch based solely on his ethnicity and political advocacy.
They warned that such narratives do not merely harm one individual, but also serve to vilify Arab and Muslim communities more broadly and contribute to a dangerous climate of hate.
The statement referenced previous acts of violence fueled by similar rhetoric, including the killing of 6-year-old Wadea al-Fayoume in Chicago and the 2023 shooting of three Palestinian-American students in Vermont, one of whom was affiliated with Brown University.
Following the spread of misinformation by far-right online influencers, several Brown University webpages that referenced Kharbouch were temporarily removed.
His legal team said this was a standard safety precaution taken to protect individuals who have been doxxed and subjected to credible threats. They stressed that no one should be forced to endure harassment, death threats, or fear simply because of their identity.
Now that the suspect has been identified, the legal team expressed hope that Kharbouch—and the broader Brown University community—can begin to heal and grieve without further misinformation or harassment.
In a personal statement, Mustapha Kharbouch described the experience as deeply traumatic:
“The past few days have been an unimaginable nightmare. I woke up on Tuesday morning to unfounded, vile, Islamophobic, and anti-Palestinian accusations being directed toward me online. Instead of grieving with my community in the aftermath of the horrible shooting, I received non-stop death threats and hate speech.”
Kharbouch added that while his experience was painful, it reflects a broader pattern faced by marginalized communities:
“This is a story every Arab, Muslim, Palestinian, and marginalized person knows all too well. We should not live in a world where this is acceptable or normal.”
He reaffirmed his commitment to speaking out against racism and injustice, stating that he would not be silenced for his identity or his advocacy for Palestinians.
Kharbouch also expressed gratitude for the overwhelming support he has received from friends, faculty, staff, and strangers, saying those messages have helped restore his faith in a world that stands firmly against hate in all its forms.
Brown University has removed multiple online references to student activist Mustapha Kharbouch in the days following a deadly campus shooting, a move that has drawn public attention amid heightened online speculation—despite law enforcement officials confirming that no suspects or persons of interest have been identified in the investigation.
Archived versions of Brown University webpages show that Kharbouch, a first-year student at the time, was previously listed in several university-affiliated roles, including as a student assistant and Cultural Programming Coordinator connected to the Global Brown Center.
His academic interests were described as focusing on International and Public Affairs and Anthropology, with involvement in Middle East–focused academic, cultural, and student programming.
Those pages are no longer accessible, and Kharbouch’s social media accounts have also been deactivated.
A verified buyer from the United States with the name “Mustapha K.” reviewed a 9MM muzzle brake through the Wing Tactical website on December 29th, 2024 — the same caliber used in the Brown shooting.
There are approximately a few hundred people in the entire United States with that first name + last initial combination.
University officials have not issued a public explanation for the removal of the online profiles.
The changes occurred as online speculation intensified in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, with social media users circulating screenshots of archived university pages and past writings associated with Kharbouch.
Among the materials resurfaced by online users was a 2024 essay authored by Kharbouch and published by the Institute for Palestine Studies as part of a special student essay series titled Genocide in Gaza: Student Essays — Brown University Encampment 2024.
The essay, titled “I Hear the Voice of My Ancestors Calling: From the Camps to the Campus,” was published on August 13, 2024, months before the shooting. The piece is a first-person reflective essay examining Palestinian identity, intergenerational memory, student activism, and questions of hope amid displacement, war, and protest.
The article includes poetic excerpts adapted from “Ancestors Song,” a chant popularized during student-led Palestine solidarity actions at Brown University, and documents Kharbouch’s participation in campus organizing efforts, including sit-ins, hunger strikes, rallies, and the Brown Gaza Solidarity Encampment.
The essay situates these experiences within a broader discussion of decolonial thought, feminist theory, and Palestinian history, including reflections on the 1948 Nakba and the author’s family history as a third-generation stateless Palestinian refugee raised in Lebanon.
The content of the essay is ideological, autobiographical, and academic in nature.
There is no reference to violence on campus, nor any indication of intent or planning related to criminal activity.
The Institute for Palestine Studies has not issued any statement suggesting the piece is under review or connected to the shooting.
Despite widespread online conjecture, law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and Providence Police, have not named Mustapha Kharbouch as a suspect or person of interest, and have publicly stated that there is no evidence linking him to the shooting.
Investigators have emphasized that the case remains active and that conclusions are being guided strictly by verified evidence.
Authorities have cautioned against drawing inferences from online speculation, warning that unsubstantiated claims can compromise investigations and cause undue harm to individuals not implicated by facts.
Media analysts and campus observers have suggested that Brown University’s decision to remove online references may have been taken as a protective or precautionary measure, particularly as misinformation and harassment proliferated across social media platforms following the attack.
Similar actions have been taken by institutions in other high-profile incidents to limit doxxing, targeted harassment, or the misinterpretation of publicly available biographical information during periods of heightened tension.
Brown University has not confirmed whether the removals were temporary, administrative, or safety-related in nature.
Authorities continue to urge the public to rely on confirmed information released by law enforcement and to avoid amplifying unverified narratives.
As of the most recent update, no arrests have been announced, no individuals have been publicly identified as suspects, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with credible information related to the shooting has been asked to contact investigators directly.
Crime
MIT Professor Nuno Loureiro Shooting Suspect Identified as 48-Year-Old Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente
Authorities have identified the suspect connected to both the Brown University mass shooting in Rhode Island and the fatal shooting of MIT professor Dr. Nuno F. G. Loureiro in Massachusetts as Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national, according to law enforcement sources.
Investigators say Neves-Valente was found deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound inside an Extra Space Storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, effectively ending a multistate manhunt.
Law enforcement officials confirmed that Neves-Valente was not a U.S. citizen, but a lawful permanent resident of the United States.
His last known address was in Miami, Florida. Police have stated that he took his own life, and the manner of death is being investigated in coordination with the medical examiner.
Sources familiar with the investigation say Neves-Valente had a storage unit registered in his name at the Salem facility, the same location where an abandoned vehicle linked to the case was previously discovered.
Surveillance video reportedly shows him entering the storage complex; however, investigators initially could not confirm whether he exited prior to being found deceased. Authorities have said agents had not entered the unit earlier in the operation as the scene remained part of an active investigation.
Investigators also revealed that the suspect used multiple sets of license plates on the same vehicle, a tactic authorities believe was intended to evade detection.
A witness-provided license plate in the Brown University shooting led investigators to trace the vehicle’s ownership and usage history, which ultimately connected it to the Brookline, Massachusetts homicide of Dr. Loureiro.
The vehicle was later located in Salem after a license plate reader flagged one of the associated plates, prompting a significant law enforcement response involving federal, state, and local agencies near the Salem, New Hampshire–Methuen, Massachusetts border.
During the search, Methuen police issued public alerts asking residents to report individuals who appeared out of place or were behaving suspiciously, while emphasizing that there was no ongoing threat to the general public.
Officials noted that the suspect appeared to have employed deliberate countermeasures, including changing plates across jurisdictions and attempting to avoid surveillance cameras and facial recognition systems.
Law enforcement sources further stated that Neves-Valente was originally from Portugal, the same country as Dr. Loureiro. Investigators are examining whether there is any significance to that shared background.
It is believed, though not yet publicly confirmed by authorities, that both men may have attended the same school in Lisbon earlier in their lives.
Additionally, Brown University officials have confirmed that Neves-Valente was previously a Brown student, attending the university from 2000 to 2001.
Records indicate he was enrolled exclusively in physics courses during that time.
The university believes he may have had classes in the same building where the shooting later occurred, though officials have stressed that this information is part of a broader factual review and not indicative of motive.
The Brown University shooting occurred shortly after 4 p.m. on Saturday, when a masked gunman dressed in black entered a lecture hall in the Barus and Holley Science Building and opened fire on students attending a final exam review session.
Two students were killed—MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, 18, of Virginia, and Ella Cook, 19, a sophomore from Alabama. Nine others were wounded, with six remaining hospitalized in stable condition at the time of the last update.
The attack triggered a massive response involving approximately 400 law enforcement officers, who conducted extensive searches of campus buildings and surrounding neighborhoods.
Although a 24-year-old man was briefly detained as a person of interest, forensic testing later cleared him, and he was released.
Separately, authorities in Brookline, Massachusetts, responded Monday night to the home of Dr. Loureiro, an MIT professor, who had been shot and later died from his injuries early Tuesday morning.
While officials initially stated there appeared to be no connection between the two cases, subsequent investigation revealed that both incidents were linked to the same suspect and vehicle.
The FBI, along with state and local agencies, continues to review evidence, digital records, and the suspect’s movements in the days leading up to both attacks.
Officials have emphasized that while the suspect is deceased, the investigation remains active as authorities work to establish motive, timeline, and any additional relevant connections.