MIT professor killed in Brookline shooting

• MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro is killed in a shooting at his home near Boston.
• Authorities open a homicide investigation with no suspects in custody.

A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was fatally shot at his home near Boston, prompting authorities to open a homicide investigation, officials said Tuesday.

Nuno F.G. Loureiro, a 47-year-old physicist and fusion scientist, was shot Monday night at his residence in Brookline, Massachusetts, according to the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died Tuesday.

Read more: Manhunt underway after Brown University mass shooting

Prosecutors said no suspects had been taken into custody as of Tuesday afternoon and that the investigation remains ongoing.

Leading figure in fusion research

Loureiro joined MIT in 2016 and was appointed last year to lead the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, one of the institute’s largest laboratories. The center employs more than 250 researchers and staff working across seven buildings and focuses on advancing fusion energy and clean energy technologies.

“It’s not hyperbole to say MIT is where you go to find solutions to humanity’s biggest problems”, Loureiro said when he was named director in 2024. “Fusion energy will change the course of human history”.

International academic career

Loureiro grew up in Viseu, in central Portugal, and studied in Lisbon before earning his doctorate in London. He later worked as a researcher at a nuclear fusion institute in Lisbon before moving to the United States. He was married, according to MIT.

Read more: Australia charges Bondi Beach shooter with terrorism after deadly attack

Dennis Whyte, an engineering professor who previously led the Plasma Science and Fusion Center, described Loureiro as “universally admired for his articulate, compassionate manner” in comments to a campus publication.

MIT President Sally Kornbluth said in a statement that Loureiro’s death was a “shocking loss” for the university and the global scientific community.

Community shaken

A 22-year-old Boston University student who lives near Loureiro’s apartment told The Boston Globe she heard three loud noises Monday evening and believed they were gunshots. “I had never heard anything so loud, so I assumed they were gunshots”, Liv Schachner was quoted as saying.

Some of Loureiro’s students visited his apartment Tuesday afternoon to pay their respects, according to the Globe.

The US ambassador to Portugal, John J. Arrigo, expressed condolences in an online post, honoring Loureiro’s leadership and scientific contributions.

Separate cases, no link found

The shooting in Brookline comes as police in Providence, Rhode Island, continue searching for a gunman who killed two students and injured nine others at Brown University on Saturday. The FBI said Tuesday it is aware of no connection between the two cases.

Authorities have not released further details about the circumstances of Loureiro’s killing as the homicide investigation continues.