The fatal shooting of a renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor inside his own home has sent shockwaves through academic circles, as authorities in multiple regions grapple with violent deaths that unfolded within the same 24-hour period.
Police in the Boston suburb of Brookline confirmed that Nuno F. G. Loureiro, a 47-year-old professor celebrated for his work in plasma physics and fusion energy, was discovered late Monday night suffering from gunshot wounds at his residence.
He was discovered in the hallway of his apartment building by neighbor Louise Cohen, who was lighting a menorah candle when she heard gunfire and rushed towards the noise.
There she found Loureiro on his back suffering from gunshot wounds. His wife and another neighbor soon arrived on scene and called 911 for help.
“I can’t sleep now,” Cohen commented to the Boston Globe. “This family is so amazing. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to kill him… Should we be afraid now?”
Emergency responders transported Loureiro to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead early Tuesday morning, according to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Investigators said officers were dispatched after residents reported hearing gunfire around 8.30 p.m. The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain unclear, and authorities have released few details as detectives continue to process evidence from the scene.
“This is an active and ongoing homicide investigation. No further information is being released at this time,” the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office said in a brief statement.
Law enforcement agencies examined whether Loureiro’s killing could have any link to a mass shooting reported over the weekend at Brown University, located roughly an hour away.
A senior official briefed on both investigations said there was no sign the incidents were connected, an assessment later echoed by the FBI.
Loureiro, who was born and raised in Portugal, joined the MIT faculty in 2016 and rapidly advanced within the institution.
By 2024, he had been appointed director of the university’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, one of MIT’s largest research hubs, which supports more than 250 researchers, engineers, and students focused on fusion energy and advanced plasma technologies.
His academic journey began in Lisbon, where he studied physics before earning a doctorate from Imperial College London in 2005.
Over the years, he conducted research at major fusion laboratories across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Portugal.
Earlier this year, in January 2025, Loureiro received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.
MIT President Sally Kornbluth addressed the campus community following the shooting, describing Loureiro as an “imaginative scholar, gifted administrator, and enthusiastic mentor.”
She called his death a “shocking loss” and extended condolences to his family, students, and colleagues.
MIT spokesperson Kimberly Allen also confirmed the professor’s death in a statement released Tuesday.
“Sadly, I can confirm that Professor Nuno Loureiro, who died early this morning, was a current MIT faculty member in the departments of Nuclear Science & Engineering and Physics, as well as the Director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center,” Allen said.
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“Our deepest sympathies are with his family, students, colleagues, and all those who are grieving,” she added.
“Focused outreach and conversations are taking place within our community to offer care and support for those who knew Prof. Loureiro, and a message will be shared with our wider community.”
As investigators continued their work in Massachusetts, authorities in Alabama were responding to another deadly scene involving gunfire inside a private home.
In Alabama, police said a popular television reporter and her husband were found dead inside their residence, their deaths believed to be the result of a murder-suicide.
Christina Chambers and her husband, Johnny Rimes, were discovered unresponsive by a family member at their home in Hoover.
Officers were called to the residence around 9 a.m. Tuesday after the relative made the discovery, according to police.
Emergency medical crews pronounced both Chambers and Rimes dead at the scene.
“Hoover Fire-Medics responded to the residence and pronounced a male and a female deceased from gunshot wounds,” the Hoover Police Department commented.
“Although the investigation is in its early stages, it appears these deaths are the result of a murder/suicide, and there is no threat to the public related to this case.”
The couple, who married in 2021, had a three-year-old son who officials said was unharmed and safely removed from the home.
Chambers had joined WBRC Fox 6 in November 2015 and became a familiar face to viewers through her coverage of sports across Alabama and the Southeast. Her former station released a statement mourning her death.
“We are heartbroken to confirm the death of former WBRC reporter Christina Chambers,” the statement said.
“Christina was a valued member of our newsroom and a beloved colleague whose warmth, humor, and passion for sports left a lasting impact on everyone who worked with her.
“Christina was an accomplished journalist and athlete who brought energy, professionalism, and genuine care to her work,” the statement continued.
Across the Atlantic, a courtroom in the United Kingdom has been hearing testimony in a case involving the death of an elderly man whose wife is accused of murdering him with a kitchen knife.
Daryl Berman, 71, is standing trial for the alleged killing of her 84-year-old husband, David Berman, who died in March after suffering a fatal stab wound.
The case initially was treated as an accident before investigators revisited the circumstances surrounding his death.
According to local reports, Daryl Berman admitted to writing “bye bye” in a calendar on the same day her husband died, adding two kisses and a heart.
David Berman’s death initially was ruled accidental, and police left his body inside the couple’s home while arrangements were made for an undertaker. Further investigation later led to Daryl Berman being charged with murder.
During police interviews, Daryl Berman told investigators she had been eating a chicken salad sandwich on March 13 and had a knife resting on a food tray. She said her husband offered to carry the tray into the kitchen as she finished eating.
She told officers that as David Berman walked into the kitchen, she heard what she described as “what sounded like a stumble or a fall.”
When she followed, she said she found him lying face down on the floor with the knife lodged in his chest near his right armpit.
Daryl Berman said her husband was making a “gurgling” sound when she discovered him. She told police there was “tons of blood” on the floor, though she allegedly said she did not immediately register the extent of the bleeding.
She told investigators that she called emergency services, with a dispatcher guiding her through performing “compressions” and asking where David Berman was bleeding from.
A medical examiner who conducted the autopsy later testified that the account of David Berman falling onto the knife was “inconceivable,” citing the nature of the stab wound along with what was described as a defensive injury found on one of his fingers.
Police have not disclosed a motive in the alleged killing as the trial continues.
