What's happening in Salem? Large police presence amid Brown University, MIT shooter manhunt

The Brown University shooting probe reportedly reached Salem, New Hampshire, on Thursday. After reports linked the Providence incident to the murder of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro, a large police presence was seen in the Rockingham County town.

Boston 25 reporter Bob Ward cited law enforcement sources to state that the search for a suspect in the Brown University mass shooting and the Brookline murder is centered on Salem, New Hampshire. Officials are yet to make a statement about the reported development. HT.com cannot verify the latest report currently.

FlightRadar map showed at least three helicopters circling over the Windham–Salem area near the Merrimack River. Reports further cited police scanners to add that officers are looking for a Nissan Sentra. This information is not verified by authorities yet.

Meanwhile, several news publications reported that investigators are examining a possible connection between last weekend’s deadly shooting at Brown University and the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor two days later near Boston. CNN added that police have identified the suspect.

The violence began on December 13, when a gunman opened fire inside a classroom building at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Two students were killed, and at least eight others were wounded before the suspect fled on foot into nearby residential streets, launching an intensive manhunt that has continued for days.

Two days later, MIT professor Nuno Loureiro, 47, was fatally shot inside his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, roughly 49 miles north of Brown’s campus. Loureiro was a professor in the departments of nuclear science and engineering and physics and was affiliated with MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center.

Earlier in the week, an FBI official said authorities did not believe there was a link between the Brown shooting and Loureiro’s killing. The emerging investigation has since shifted, with officials now exploring whether the two incidents could be connected.

Police released images and video of a masked man believed to be the shooter based on survivor accounts. The footage shows the individual walking through nearby streets before and immediately after the attack, including moments when police cruisers arrived with flashing lights.

“He could be anywhere,” Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said Wednesday, noting that authorities initially had no information about the suspect’s identity or motive.

Investigators have also circulated photos of another unidentified man seen near the area, saying they want to speak with him as a potential witness who may have information relevant to the case.

Authorities briefly announced that a person had been taken into custody a day after the Brown shooting, but that individual was later released after investigators determined he was not involved.

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