'All too familiar’: Brown University student who survived Parkland reflects after shooting

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Investigators say the search for the suspect in the Brown University shooting has come to an end, but questions about motive remain.

WATCH: 'It’s a small, but unfortunately growing club,' said Parkland survivor who was locked down at Brown

Authorities confirmed Thursday that 48-year-old Claudio Neves Valente was found dead at a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, where police say he had been for approximately two days. Evidence recovered at the scene links Valente to the shooting at Brown University. He is also considered a suspect in the killing of an MIT professor, according to law enforcement.

Officials say Valente had ties to South Florida, with his last known address listed in Miami. Investigators also confirmed he had previously been enrolled as a student at Brown University.

For students on campus, the shooting brought chaos and fear. For Zoe Weissman, a Brown University student who was near the scene, it also brought back painful memories.

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Weissman grew up in Parkland, and survived the 2018 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when she was just 12 years old.

“It’s a small, but unfortunately growing club of people who have survived more than one,” Weissman said.

When shots rang out at Brown, Weissman was inside her dorm. She remained locked down for several hours as police secured the area. She has since returned home to Florida.

“I’ve been able to cope with it, I think, better than a lot of my friends,” she said. “The hypervigilance, the triggers, the fear, the grief — those are things I’ve unfortunately become accustomed to.”

As investigators released more information about the suspect, Weissman learned Valente had lived not far from her hometown.

“He lived probably like 45 minutes from where I live, in Parkland,” she said. “Unfortunately, I’m not surprised.”

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She added that learning about his connections to both Florida and Brown University was deeply unsettling.

“I definitely think it’s disturbing that he was last known to have resided in Florida and that he also had a connection to Brown," she said.

Weissman says no student should have to experience the trauma of a school shooting — especially more than once — and believes meaningful change is needed.

“At the end of the day, instead of addressing their motivations, we need to make sure that people like this don’t have the means to commit these acts,” she said.

Meanwhile, investigators say their work is ongoing as they continue to piece together Valente’s movements and determine what led up to the shootings.

“Our work is not done,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Ted E. Docks. “There are a lot of questions that need to be answered.”