In a few hours, fundraising for Portuguese physicist Nuno Loureiro, murdered in the United States, he is close to reaching his goal. At the time of publication of this text, more than 245 thousand dollars had already been donated, around 83% of the goal of 300 thousand dollarsby more than 1,600 donors.
“In Loving Memory of Nuno Loureiro, Supporting His Family” (In memory of Nuno Loureiro, in support of his familyin literal translation) is the name of the fundraiser, which takes place on the GoFundMe platform. DN found that Inês Dias, widow of the Portuguese physicist, was the one who created the initiativecoordinated by Iva Konieczka. The main objective of fundraising is support the young scientist’s family.
“Nuno was not only a brilliant scientist and a dear friend, but also a deeply devoted husband and father, whose biggest concern was the future of their daughters, their education and the opportunities that would allow them to achieve their dreams”, reads the text that accompanies the fundraising.
It is also mentioned that the family had a happy and stable life, which was tragically interrupted. “Nuno and Inês built a life based on love and stability, full of laughter and joy, learning and growth. However, this life was tragically interrupted by an act of extreme, senseless violence, that robbed them of that precious time, the future and the resources needed to continue guiding, supporting and educating their daughters.”
The text highlights that donating any amount is “an act of love” towards the victim’s family. “Your contribution, regardless of the amount, is an act of love, for which we will be deeply grateful for your support.”
Or case
Nuno Loureiro, director of a laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), was shot dead in Boston last Tuesday. The suspect in the crime is Cláudio Manuel Neves Valente, 48 years old, born in Torres Novas.
US authorities believe that Valente is linked to two episodes of violence with deaths. He was found dead, police confirmed. Providence Police Chief Oscar L. Perez Jr. said at a press conference that the suspect “took his own life” when officers tried to detain him at a warehouse unit in Salem, New Hampshire.
Cláudio Valente attended the same academic program as Nuno Loureiro in Portugal, between 1995 and 2000, said the Massachusetts federal prosecutor. He studied at the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), in Lisbon, at the same time as the physicist at MIT.
A colleague of Cláudio Valente told DN that “the Cláudio was not a monster, he was not a psychopath. I know they’re difficult to catch, to identify — I’ve met some — but he wasn’t. He was arrogant but not beyond what was more or less normal in the Physics course; He wasn’t even the most arrogant, he didn’t have the biggest ego, he wasn’t a narcissist. He was empathetic, he had empathy.” In addition to the death of Nuno Loureiro, he is also suspected of two more deaths in a shooting attack at Brown University.
*With information from Fernanda Câncio