Homeless Hero Set to Receive $50,000 Reward for Cracking Brown and MIT Shooting Case

A homeless man named John is being hailed as a hero after his sharp instincts and a Reddit post helped police catch a suspected mass shooter. Federal officials confirmed this week that John is now entitled to a $50,000 reward for his role in solving the shootings at Brown University and MIT.

The breakthrough happened after John noticed a man acting strangely near the Brown University campus. The suspect, later identified as Claudio Neves Valente, was spotted by John in a bathroom hours before the shooting. John noted that the man’s clothes didn’t match the cold weather, which struck him as odd.

Later, John saw the man near a car and watched as he used a key fob to open it, only to suddenly back away and relock it. Sensing something was wrong, John followed the man and even confronted him, asking why he was circling the block. John then took to Reddit to alert authorities, specifically telling them to look for a grey Nissan with Florida plates.

“He blew this case right open,” said Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha. That tip allowed the FBI and local police to track the rental car and identify Valente. Shortly after the manhunt intensified, Valente was found dead from a self-inflicted wound in New Hampshire. Thanks to John’s quick thinking, a dangerous multi-state investigation was brought to a swift conclusion.