Authorities said on Dec. 16 that they launched a homicide investigation after a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was fatally shot at his home.
Nuno F.G. Loureiro, a 47-year-old theoretical physicist and fusion scientist from Portugal, was found with "apparent gunshot wounds" at his house in Brookline, Massachusetts, on the night of Dec. 15, according to theNorfolk District Attorney's Office. He was transported to an area hospital and was pronounced dead on Dec. 16.
Massachusetts State Police and the Brookline Police Department responded to the scene after receiving a report of a man shot at his home on Gibbs Street, the district attorney's office said in a statement. Brookline is a wealthy suburb of Boston.
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Brookline Police Chief Jennifer Paster stated that the investigation is active and ongoing, adding that patrol vehicles, officers, and unmarked units remained at the scene. No suspects had been taken into custody as of Dec. 16.
"On behalf of the Brookline Police Department, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of Nuno F.G. Loureiro during this incredibly difficult time," Paster said ina statement. "Our thoughts are with all those who have been affected by this tragic loss."
The homicide investigation comes as authorities in Providence, Rhode Island, about 50 miles southwest of Brookline, continued their search for the suspect in theBrown University shooting. Two students were killed, and nine others were injured on Dec. 13 when a gunman opened fire on campus.
During a news conference on Dec. 16, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said there was no apparent connection between the shooting at Brown University and the fatal shooting of Loureiro.
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A 'shocking loss'
In a letter to the campus community, MIT President Sally Kornbluth confirmed the death of Loureiro and called it a "shocking loss." Kornbluth said Loureiro died early on Dec. 16 from "gunshot wounds he sustained a few hours before."
Loureiro, who was married and a parent in the Public Schools of Brookline, grew up in a small city in central Portugal and received an undergraduate degree in Lisbon before earning a doctorate in London, according to MIT andBrookline.News.
According to the university, Loureiro had wanted to be a scientist since childhood and "fell in love with plasma physics" while pursuing his doctorate. He was a researcher at an institute for nuclear fusion in Lisbon before joining MIT's faculty in 2016, the school said.
In 2022, Loureiro became the deputy director of MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center — one of the largest laboratories at the university. He was then named the laboratory's director in 2024, leading more than 250 full-time researchers, staff members, and students,according to MIT.
His research also earned him multiple awards, including the National Science Foundation Career Award and the American Physical Society Thomas H. Stix Award for Outstanding Early Career Contributions to Plasma Physics Research, the university added.
"Nuno was not only a brilliant scientist, he was a brilliant person," Dennis Whyte, an engineering professor who was the former head of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, said in a campus obituary. "He shone a bright light as a mentor, friend, teacher, colleague, and leader, and was universally admired for his articulate, compassionate manner."
Campus community mourns loss of MIT professor
Police have not identified any suspects in the shooting or released additional details on the incident. In the Dec. 16 statement, Paster said police are "limited in the information" that they could share and asked for the "community's understanding and patience."
TheBoston Globe reportedthat some students visited Loureiro's home, an apartment in a three-story brick building, on Dec. 16 after classes. People were seen embracing each other and holding back tears as they gathered outside the building, according to the newspaper.
Liv Schachner, a 22-year-old Boston University student who lives near Loureiro's home, told the Globe that she heard loud noises on the night of Dec. 15.
"I had never heard anything that loud, so I assumed they were gunshots," Schachner said, the Globe reported. "It's difficult to sort of grasp. It just seems like it keeps happening."
John J. Arrigo, the U.S. ambassador to Portugal, also shared his condolences on social media and acknowledged Loureiro's contributions to the scientific field.
"I extend my deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Nuno Loureiro, who led MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center," Arrigo said in astatement on X. "We honor his life, his leadership in science, and his enduring contributions."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:MIT professor found fatally shot at his suburban home: Prosecutors
