Two Firearms Recovered Link Suspect to Shootings

BOSTON - Special Agent in Charge Thomas Greco, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) - Boston Field Division; and Special Agent in Charge Ted Docks, Boston Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announcement:

Two 9 mm pistols were recovered in New Hampshire with the body of Claudio Neves Valente. Those firearms were recovered by the FBI's Evidence Response Team (ERT) and immediately provided to ATF for forensic analysis with the assistance of the Connecticut State Police Forensic Science Laboratory.

The firearms were submitted for DNA processing, fingerprinting, and test-firing for comparison through ATF's National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). NIBIN forensically examines shell casings from fired bullets to link crime scenes and crime guns. It is a valuable tool of both inclusion and exclusion, allowing law enforcement to determine which crime scenes may be related through the use of a common firearm. It has been accurately reported that the shell casings in the Brown University shooting and the shell casings from the murder of Nuno Loureiro in Brookline, Massachusetts, were not fired from the same gun.

CSP Forensic Science Lab has confirmed that one of the two firearms recovered in New Hampshire on December 18 with the remains of Neves Valente is positively correlated with the firearm used in the Brown University mass shooting. The other of the two firearms is positively correlated with the murder of Nuno Loureiro in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Additionally, a rapid DNA test has preliminarily matched Neves Valente with DNA recovered from evidence at Brown University.

The FBI and ATF would like to offer their sincere gratitude and appreciation for the around-the-clock collaborative effort of the CSP Forensic Science Laboratory personnel. Their behind-the-scenes effort has allowed for the rapid scientific confirmation of the facts of this investigation.

ATF is the lead federal law enforcement agency with jurisdiction involving firearms and violent crimes, and regulates the firearm industry. More information about ATF and its programs is available at www.atf.gov