A "homeless" man named "John" provided the big break that allowed police to crack the suspect's identity in the Brown University shooting, which they then linked to the shooting death of an MIT professor.
That's according to the police affidavit in the shootings, which names Claudio Manuel Neves Valente as the shooter. He is believed to have taken his own life as authorities closed in.
The involvement of "John," as he is called in the affidavit, has led to calls on social media for him to get the reward in the case.
According to the affidavit, here is the role that "John" played:
John first comes into the picture in the affidavit when he was observed encountering the suspect on the street. John “then runs after the suspect in the same direction.” They were then observed again in close proximity. This led authorities to put out a photo of John, seeking to speak with him. And the affidavit says what he told them was a goldmine.
John posted on a Providence subreddit on December 16, and then the command center received an anonymous tip about the post. It read, “I’m being dead serious. The police need to look into a grey Nissan with Florida plates, possibly a rental. That was the car he was driving. It was parked in front of the little shack behind the Rhode Island Historical Society on the Cooke St. side. I know because he used his key fob to open the car, approached it, and then something prompted him to back away. When he backed away, he relocked the car. I found that odd. so when he circled the block, I approached the car; that is when I saw the Florida plates. He was parked in the section between the gate of the RIHS and the corner of Cooke and George St.”
Authorities reviewed the surveillance videos further as a result of the tip and discovered the Nissan. The New York Post referred to John as a "homeless hero" and indicated that, per federal authorities, he may be entitled to the $50,000 reward.
“He blew this case right open,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a press conference of John. According to the Guardian, John was staying in the basement of the Brown University engineering building.
On December 17, John approached police and said he wanted to speak with people about the person of interest.
He said that he first encountered the suspect inside a bathroom on the ground floor of the Barus Holley building on December 13. He felt his clothing was “inappropriate and inadequate for the weather,” and described the suspect’s clothing in detail, along with his face mask.
They locked eyes, and John felt a “game of cat and mouse” ensued between himself and the suspect. John “ran up behind the person of interest, slowed to a speed-walk, and walked past the suspect." John then turned to face the suspect, the affidavit says.
“Your car is back there; why are you circling the block?” John asked, and the suspect responded, “I don’t know you from nobody. Why are you harassing me?”
John told police he was the Reddit poster. This tip led police to trace the car to an Alamo Rent-A-Car and the suspect’s identity.