Brown University custodian reported suspicious man before shooting

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A longtime custodian at Brown University says he repeatedly reported a suspicious man on campus in the weeks leading up to the December 13 mass shooting that killed two students.

Derek Lisi, a 15 year Brown employee, says he saw the man later identified as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente more than a dozen times inside and around the Barus and Holley engineering building. He described the individual lingering in hallways, peering into classrooms, and quickly leaving when staff were nearby.

“Something kept telling me, ‘Don’t ignore it,’” Lisi said.

Lisi says he reported the behavior three separate times to a third party security vendor hired by the university, including on December 1, less than two weeks before the shooting. He was told staff were present to cover an event and that the concern may have been passed along to Brown’s Department of Public Safety.

After surveillance photos were released, Lisi said he immediately recognized the suspect, noting his distinctive limp and behavior, and called the tip line. He later met with detectives to share what he witnessed.

Police say the suspect later killed an MIT professor in Massachusetts before being found dead in a New Hampshire storage facility from a self inflicted gunshot wound.

Lisi says he places responsibility on the shooter but believes campus security should be reexamined. He questioned why the building, typically locked on weekends, was open the day of the attack and called for more cameras on campus.

Lisi is also calling for a permanent memorial honoring the victims and urging others to speak up when something feels off.