Providence Mayor Brett Smiley is urging the FBI to pay a $50,000 reward to a witness whose tip helped identify the suspect in last week’s shooting that left two Brown University students dead.
In a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, Smiley said the tipster, identified in a police affidavit only as “John,” played a pivotal role in the investigation and asked that the full reward be paid to him.
“One individual amongst those who provided tips stands out above the rest: John,” the letter reads. “John is no less than a hero.”
John posted vital information in a Reddit thread Monday, detailing an odd encounter he had with a suspicious man on the Brown campus in the hours before the shooting. Police were made aware of the Reddit post the following day via a tip line, and they confirmed the contents of the post to be accurate.
That led police to seek out the poster, who could be seen in security footage confronting the suspect, later identified as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente.
John’s interview with police cracked the case, leading them to Neves Valente’s rental car and, eventually, his identity.
The FBI offered a reward of $50,000 for information that led to the identification and capture of the shooter. Smiley wants John to collect on that offer.
“His bravery, selflessness and stewardship on behalf of his community went far beyond what anyone could ever hope from a tip,” Smiley said. “I am writing to you today to request that the entirety of the $50,000 reward be issued to this incredible Providence neighbor.”
Neves Valente was found dead on Thursday night of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a storage facility in Salem, N.H.
In a press conference announcing Neves Valente’s death, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha credited John for coming forward and also advocated for him to receive the reward money.
“I don’t know whether he’s going to get the reward or not, but if I had a vote, he would,” Neronha said.
