Murdered MIT professor was found in building foyer by neighbor who heard gunshots

The MIT nuclear science professor who was shot dead in his home was found lying on his back in the building foyer by a neighbor who heard gunshots while lighting a menorah candle, it emerged Wednesday.

Respected professor Nuno Loureiro, a 47-year-old married father of three, died in the hospital after he was gunned down in his home in Brookline late Monday, rocking the quiet and affluent Boston suburb just days after a mass shooting around 50 miles away at Brown University.

Loureiro’s upstairs neighbour, Louise Cohen, told the Boston Globe that she was lighting a menorah candle for Hanukkah at around 8:30 p.m. when she was terrified by the sound of several gunshots.

She then saw Louriero lying on his back inside the building’s entrance — and immediately called 911, along with another neighbor and the professor’s wife, Ines, according to reports.

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

Another neighbor, Anne Greenwald, told The Post she was in her home when she heard a loud noise that her husband recognized as gunshots.

“When we went outside there were already a lot of police cars,” she said.

She said she feels “horrible for the family,” whom she didn’t know well but would often see and wave hello to around the neighborhood.

“We’re all here to support in any way we can. And I know lots of people are organizing support for the family,” she said. 

Authorities had not identified any suspects and no arrests had been made by Wednesday morning.

The alarming shooting also comes as the gunman who killed two and wounded nine Saturday night at Brown University, about 50 miles away in Providence, Rhode Island also remains on the loose.

“This remains an active and ongoing homicide investigation. 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,” Brookline Police Chief Jennifer Paster said in a statement.  

The chief assured the shaken locals, who held a vigil outside of Loreiro’s home Tuesday night, the department “will have dedicated patrol cars, officers, and unmarked units” in the neighborhood.

Greenwald said it’s “scary” that police have still not nabbed the shooter or provided a motive.

Loureiro, a theoretical physicist and fusion scientist, joined MIT in 2016 and was appointed deputy director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center in 2022.

The native of Viseu, Portugal was named last year to lead MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, where he worked to advance clean energy technology and other research, according to the university.

The prestigious research center, one of the school’s largest labs, had more than 250 people working across seven buildings when he took the lead.

“He shone a bright light as a mentor, friend, teacher, colleague and leader, and was universally admired for his articulate, compassionate manner,” Dennis Whyte, an engineering professor who previously led MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, said in a statement.

In January, former President Joe Biden announced that Louriero was among 400 people nominated for the residential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, which the White House describes as “the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers early in their careers.”

With Post Wires