The tragic death of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor has left a community in shock as authorities continue their investigation into the incident. The professor, identified as Nuno F.G. Loureiro, was found with fatal gunshot wounds inside his Brookline apartment earlier this week, a serene Boston suburb now shrouded in an unsettling mystery.

According to a statement from the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office, Loureiro, aged 47, succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday morning at a local hospital, following the shooting that occurred the previous night. The news has sent ripples through both the academic world and the local community, where Loureiro was known for his contributions to nuclear science and engineering.

The Brookline Police Department responded promptly to an emergency call reporting a shooting at the three-story residential building where Loureiro lived. Upon arrival, officers were met with a scene that has since sparked an intensive investigation, as they work to piece together the events leading up to the professor’s untimely death.

Loureiro, who held dual roles as a professor of nuclear science and engineering and of physics at MIT, was a respected figure in his field. The institution and those who knew him are now left to grapple with the loss, as the investigation unfolds.

As developments continue to emerge, the community remains on edge, awaiting answers to the pressing questions surrounding this heartbreaking case. The broader implications of this incident serve as a reminder of the fragility of life and the unforeseen challenges that can arise even in the most tranquil of settings.

Shooting rocks Boston suburb

The shooting took place in Brookline, an affluent suburb a few miles outside of Boston. It is being investigated as a homicide, and no suspects have been taken into custody. 

The Brookline Police Department and Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office are investigating Loureiro’s death, the Massachusetts State Police said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

“This remains an active and ongoing homicide investigation,” Brookline Chief of Police Jennifer Paster said in a social media post. “In order to protect the integrity of the investigation, we are limited in the information we can share at this time and ask for the community’s understanding and patience. While we investigate this incident, we will have dedicated patrol cars, officers, and unmarked units in the Gibbs Street neighborhood.”

The Brookline Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Louise Cohen, who is Loureiro’s upstairs neighbor, was lighting a menorah candle on Monday at around 8:30 p.m. when she heard multiple gunshots, The Boston Globe reported. 

Upon opening her door, Cohen reportedly witnessed Loureiro lying on his back inside the apartment building’s entrance and called 911, along with another neighbor and Loureiro’s wife.

“I can’t sleep now,” Cohen said, according to the Globe. “This family is so amazing. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to kill him.”

Questions about Brown University shooting

Loureiro’s death comes as authorities in Providence, Rhode Island – located about 50 miles away – are still searching for the gunman who killed two Brown University students and injured nine others during a class study session on Saturday. 

However, Ted Docks, special agent in charge of FBI Boston, told reporters on Tuesday that, “It seems that there’s no connection,” between the two crimes. 

The FBI did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Locals gathered in Brookline, Massachusetts, on Tuesday night to mourn the loss of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro, who died after he was shot in his apartment on Monday. (Andrea Margolis/Fox News Digital)

Professor makes mark at MIT

Loureiro joined MIT in 2016 and was appointed to lead the school’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center last year, where he aimed to research and expand clean energy technology, according to The Associated Press. The center stands as one of the school’s largest laboratories and had over 250 researchers, staff members and students when Loureiro was selected as its leader, the school’s website stated. 

On Tuesday night, a crowd of two dozen mourners gathered to commemorate Loureiro at his home in Brookline, many of whom were crying.

They held candles and hugged one another, less than 24 hours after the MIT professor was found shot at the very same location.

A Brookline High School student told Fox News Digital that he met Loureiro when he was in middle school. Both he and Loureiro’s daughter attended the same karate class, and Loureiro would drive the two together.

The student said he saw the professor nearly every other weekend for a time.

“He was always very welcoming,” the student said. “I used to have trouble being on time back then, and he would always be very gracious and forgiving. He was very inviting.”

“He was just a great guy, very respectful, very nice… they’re just a great family, really, really great people,” one mourner said. (Andrea Margolis/Fox News Digital)

The high school student also said that at one point, he was really interested in politics, and “loved talking to [Loureiro] about it.”

“He was just a great guy, very respectful, very nice,” he added. “They’re just a great family, really, really great people.”

One mother at the vigil told Fox News Digital that her daughter is friends with Loureiro’s, but was too emotional to continue. She described the shooting as “senseless.”

Eurydice Hirsey, another Brookliner, told Fox News Digital that she knew Loureiro through his wife, Ines. The couple shared three children, Hirsey said, who range in age from elementary school to college.

“We take [dance] classes together several times a week,” she said. “I just saw her last night.”

One mourner lamented the amount of “hate and suffering” in the world after recent violent attacks in the U.S. and internationally. (Andrea Margolis/Fox News Digital)

“She’s always [a] very wonderful, upbeat, smart, funny woman. And then I found out [about the shooting at] 10 o’clock this morning from one of the people in the class.”

“It’s a family that’s feeling such raw horror… terror,” said Hirsey. “And what do you do with something that’s indescribable?”

Hirsey’s husband added that the “only answer to terrorism is a strong civil society.”

“And in the meantime, we face a lot of hate and suffering,” he said. 

Locals gathered in Brookline, Massachusetts, on Tuesday night to mourn the loss of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro, who was found shot in his apartment on Monday. (Andrea Margolis/Fox News Digital)

On Tuesday, members of the local community and fellow MIT faculty began speaking out to express their shock surrounding Loureiro’s death.

“Our deepest sympathies are with his family, students, colleagues, and all those who are grieving,” MIT spokesperson Kimberly Allen wrote in a statement to Fox News. “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.”

MIT Professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro. (rafaelmgrossi via X)

According to Loureiro’s faculty page, the renowned professor studied physics at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal in 2000, and later went on to earn a doctorate in physics at Imperial College London, U.K., in 2005.

Additionally, he completed postdoctoral work at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory from 2005 to 2007, and at the UKAEA Culham Centre for Fusion Energy from 2007 to 2009. Before joining MIT in 2016, Loureiro held a research position at the Institute for Plasmas and Nuclear Fusion at IST Lisbon. 

In a statement posted to social media, U.S. Ambassador to Portugal John J. Arrigo added, “I extend my deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Nuno Loureiro, who led MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center. We honor his life, his leadership in science, and his enduring contributions.”