BROOKLINE, Mass. (AP) — A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was fatally shot at his home near Boston, and authorities said Tuesday they had launched a homicide investigation.
Nuno F.G. Loureiro, a 47-year-old physicist and fusion scientist, was shot Monday night at his home in Brookline, Massachusetts. He died at a local hospital on Tuesday, the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
The prosecutor’s office stated no suspects had been taken into custody as of Tuesday afternoon, and that its investigation was ongoing.
Loureiro, who joined MIT in 2016, was named last year to lead MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, aimed at advancing clean energy technology and related research.
Growing up in Viseu, Portugal, Loureiro earned his doctorate in London and worked at an institute for nuclear fusion before joining MIT. His death has been described as a shocking loss by MIT President Sally Kornbluth.
Students and colleagues visited his home to pay their respects, while the U.S. ambassador to Portugal expressed condolences for Loureiro's leadership in science.
The shooting comes amidst an ongoing investigation into a tragic incident at Brown University, where two students were killed.
