USA
Nuclear scientist shot dead at Massachusetts home
US police launch homicide investigation after Nuno Loureiro dies from gunshot
December 17, 2025 12:26
US police launch homicide investigation after Nuno Loureiro dies from gunshot
December 17, 2025 12:26A nuclear scientist was fatally shot at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts, on Monday.
Nuno F Gomes Loureiro, 47, a nuclear and engineering professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was shot "multiple times" on Monday and died on Tuesday morning in hospital, according to Brookline police and MIT officials.
Police were called to an apartment after gunfire was heard at about 8.30pm local time on Monday. Loureiro was taken by ambulance to a Boston hospital, where he died on Tuesday morning.
Police are treating the incident as "an active and ongoing homicide investigation", the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office said. No one is currently in custody.
One neighbour told CNS News they heard "three loud bangs" on Monday evening.
A separate neighbour, Liv Schachner, 22, told The Boston Globe: “I had never heard anything so loud, so I assumed they were gunshots.”
US media has reported that Loureiro, originally from Portugal, was married and had a young family.
An award-winning theoretical physicist and fusion scientist known for his research in magnetised plasma dynamics, Loureiro gained his PhD in physics at Imperial College London in 2005, according to his faculty web page.
He joined MIT in 2016 and, last year, was named director of its Plasma Science and Fusion Centre, one of the institute’s largest labs.
The shooting comes as US police continue to search for the gunman who killed two students and injured nine others at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island on Saturday.
A gunman opened fire on a room where students had gathered to prepare for their final exam in Principles of Economics, Brown’s most popular class. The school went into lockdown and cancelled all academic exercises for the rest of the semester.
The FBI on Tuesday said it knew of no connection between the two homicide investigations.
An MIT spokeswoman said in a statement, “Our deepest sympathies are with his family, students, colleagues and all those who are grieving.
“Focused outreach and conversations are taking place within our community to offer care and support for those who knew Professor Loureiro.”
The President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, said Loureiro’s death was “an irreplaceable loss for science”.
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