(Ken Silva, Headline USA) A custodian who works at Brown University has told local media that he warned his school numerous times about a suspicious person who turned out to be the man who killed two students and wounded nine others in a Dec. 13 mass shooting.
The custodian, Derek Lisi, told Providence outlet WPRI on Monday that he remembers seeing the gunman, Portuguese national Claudio Neves-Valente, more than a dozen times before the attack.
“Lisi said he reported the individual as suspicious to Event Staff Services LLC, or ESS — a third-party security vendor for Brown — on three separate occasions,” WPRI reported on Monday.
Providence officials were allegedly receiving information from bystanders and witnesses of the Brown shooting, and had a WEEK to release it. Information is just NOW coming out that people have seen the killer before and after the shooting, yet officials did NOTHING.
"For the… pic.twitter.com/Gf1Xwpz68X
— DeVory Darkins (@devorydarkins) December 22, 2025
“When he warned them Dec. 1, a staff member of that security company told him they were only present to cover an event. Lisi said the university’s Department of Public Safety might have been notified, but he doesn’t know if any other action was taken.”
Lisi made similar comments to the Boston Globe, which reached out to ESS President David Madonna for comment. Madonna reportedly said it’s not his company’s job to investigate suspicious people on campus.
“We have nothing to do with watching buildings,” he told the Globe. “Whenever there’s an event at Brown, they hire us to do ID check and capacity counts in their rooms.”
The custodian’s forewarnings represent the latest security lapse in the incident.
Much of the focus has centered on whether the Ivy League school removed security cameras in the building where the attack took place in response to concerns about protecting illegal immigrants from federal agents. Brown students and staff have also reported that the university’s emergency notifications about the active shooter were delayed.
JUST IN: Fox News correspondent Brooke Taylor reports that Brown University has retained former U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha as it prepares for potential lawsuits amid intense scrutiny over its lack of adequate security cameras and policies to protect students following a deadly… pic.twitter.com/NMTyRS8q8Y
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) December 23, 2025
The scrutiny over the school’s security has led to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education, which said earlier Monday that officials are asking Brown for information to help determine if school officials violated federal campus safety and security requirements. This has included seeking security reports, audits, dispatch and call logs, and when emergency notifications have been utilized.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
