A prominent nuclear science professor at MIT was shot and killed inside his home Monday night, with police releasing few details about the slaying.
According to the New York Post, Nuno Loureiro, 47, was found inside the Brookline, Massachusetts, house by police responding to reports of a man shot around 8:30 p.m., the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office announced.
Some reports indicate that Loureiro was Jewish and a supporter of Israel.
Asked activist Laura Loomer: “Is someone ambushing elite universities on the East Coast trying to murder pro-Israel and Jewish professors during Hanukkah? Both shooters are on the run. Is it the same shooter?”
Loomer is referencing the Dec. 13 shooting at Brown University just 50 miles from the site of last night’s murder.
The Post reports Loureiro was rushed to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead Tuesday morning.
Brookline Police Deputy Superintendent Paul Campbell told WBZ-TV News that the victim “had been shot multiple times,” but would not release further details.
According to the paper, Loureiro, a native of Portugal, was a member of the school’s departments of Nuclear Science & Engineering and Physics, and director of the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, one of the university’s largest labs with more than 250 full-time researchers, a school spokesman said.
“Our deepest sympathies are with his family, students, colleagues, and all those who are grieving,” they told The Post. “Focused outreach and conversations are taking place within our community to offer care and support for those who knew professor Loureiro, and a message will be shared with our wider community.”
The spokesperson said the investigation is being led by state police, the Norfolk DA, Brookline and MIT police, and said the school would not discuss the shooting further “out of respect for the integrity of this ongoing investigation.”
