The suspect behind the deadly Brown University shooting and the killing of an MIT professor died by suicide days before he was found dead in a New Hampshire storage unit, authorities confirmed Friday, as investigators continue searching for a motive behind the attacks.

New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella said Friday the New Hampshire Department of Justice Office of the Chief Medical Examiner performed an autopsy on the body of Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48, who was identified as the suspect in the Brown University mass shooting and the subsequent killing of an MIT professor.

The examination confirmed Neves Valente died from a gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of death was ruled a suicide. 

Based on forensic findings and investigative information available to date, authorities estimate he died Tuesday, Dec. 16. Neves Valente was found dead in a storage facility in New Hampshire two days later on Thursday evening.

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Neves Valente was publicly identified by Providence police as the suspect in the Dec. 13 shooting at Brown University, which occurred during a finals week study session and left two students dead. Nine others were wounded at the Barus & Holley Engineering Building.

Authorities later confirmed he was also the suspect in the Dec. 15 fatal shooting of MIT nuclear science professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro, who was found shot at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Federal investigators also recovered two 9 mm pistols in New Hampshire near Neves Valente’s body, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’s Boston office.

The ATF and FBI, working through the Connecticut State Police forensic laboratory, positively matched one of the guns to the weapon used in the Brown shooting. The second gun was matched to Loureiro’s killing, authorities said.

According to Brown University President Christina Paxson, Neves Valente was a Portuguese national and former Brown student who studied physics from the fall of 2000 through the spring of 2001 before withdrawing from the program in 2003. He had no recent affiliation with the university at the time of the shooting on campus.

“I think it’s safe to assume that this man, when he was a student, spent a great deal of time in that building for classes and other activities as a Ph.D. student in physics,” Paxson said. “He has no current active affiliation with the university or campus presence.”

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Neves Valente was found dead Thursday evening after law enforcement officers breached a storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire, where he was believed to be hiding. Authorities said he acted alone in both attacks.

During the investigation, law enforcement canvassed neighborhood surveillance video, released images of a person of interest and initially questioned, but later ruled out, another individual before identifying Neves Valente as the suspect.

The two Brown students killed were Ella Cook of Alabama and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov of Virginia. Several surviving victims remained hospitalized in stable condition.

Sources tell Fox News that investigators are continuing to examine Neves Valente’s recent movements, including tracing credit card transactions in the days leading up to the attacks. FBI agents are also in Florida, where he reportedly last lived, according to sources.

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Authorities have not found any writings or documents indicating a clear motive for the shootings.

Fox News Digital’s Andrea Margolis and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

The club, in a statement posted on Instagram on Tuesday, said it was “deeply saddened” by Colon’s death and that employees at the nightclub rushed to her aid.

“Our staff responded immediately and called emergency services while an off-duty EMT rendered first aid,” it said. “We are cooperating fully with all inquiries from law enforcement and city officials who are reviewing this medical episode.”

When police arrived at the Warrenton Street venue, they found a person lying on the dance floor, unresponsive and without a pulse, according to an incident report. They began performing chest compressions with the help of a cashier at the club who said she worked as an EMT.

Police said in the report that the large crowd inside the club did not comply with orders to give space to emergency medical personnel. Eventually, officers ordered the club to shut down and told patrons to leave immediately.

The woman, whose age was not disclosed, was then taken to Tufts Medical Center, police said.

Colon’s sister, Angelica Colon, wrote on social media Sunday that the club failed to immediately call 911 after being told about the medical emergency. She said only a few people at the club showed any “real concern,” while other patrons and staff “acted like nothing was happening.”

“My sister collapsed in the middle of the club,“ she wrote. ”I tried to lift her myself and couldn’t. I was screaming at the top of my lungs and was ignored. The music was only stopped for two minutes, then turned right back on — as if her life didn’t matter.”

Angelica Colon also couldn’t be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Anastaiya Colon, who was at the club to celebrate her sister Angelica’s birthday, had smoked before arriving and had “a few drinks” at the bar, according to the police report. Drug use was not suspected as a factor in the medical episode, according to the report.

Angelica Colon said that, while her sister had a medical condition, “that does not excuse what happened.” She said in the post that she was considering legal action against the club’s owners.

“A business that refuses to act during a medical emergency does not deserve to operate,” she wrote. “If this could happen to my sister, it could happen to anyone.”

“She was the greatest mother to our son and her daughter,” Stackhouse wrote. “Wherever I fell, she compensated and gave me so much more grace than I deserve.”

Icon is operated by Pasha Entertainment, which also runs the nightclubs Venu and Hava, as well as prominent restaurants such as Ghost Light Tavern and Kava Neo-Taverna, according to the company’s website.

“Our thoughts and condolences are with the individual’s family and loved ones,” the club wrote.

Last year, the city’ licensing board reviewed a 2023 incident at the club in which a woman was punched and thrown to the ground by another patron. Icon staff did not call police during the altercation, which the club’s director of security admitted was a “lapse in judgment.”

The woman who was punched later sued the club for overserving her attacker; Icon was ordered to pay $30,000 in damages, according to court records.

Camilo Fonseca can be reached at camilo.fonseca@globe.com. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports.

The Pittsburgh Steelers got some injury updates on Tuesday courtesy of head coach Mike Tomlin, with the most promising one being that pass rusher Nick Herbig should return this week against the Cleveland Browns.

Herbig suffered a hamstring injury against the Miami Dolphins and practiced late last week but could not make the final push to suit up against the Lions.

Meanwhile, four other players are working through soft tissue injuries as well. Cornerback James Pierre has a calf issue that has kept him out of the last two games, but he went through a workout on Tuesday and that could get him back on the practice field.

Tomlin seemed optimistic that Pierre would return to practice this week. He did not give the same level of optimism to guard Isaac Seumalo, who is still battling through a triceps injury.

Seumalo missed last week after not practicing, and could be out for another game if he can not practice. Spencer Anderson, his backup, will be limited after getting banged-up against the Lions.

Wide receiver Calvin Austin III has a hamstring strain that Tomlin said will leave as questionable this week, and will likely limit him early in the practice week. The same can be said for slot cornerback Brandin Echols, who is battling a groin injury.