Brown University Tip: Will The Homeless Tipster Get Paid?

In the aftermath of the death of a suspect behind the true crime mass shooting at Brown University, you probably heard that a Redditor provided the best tip yet. But, you might not know that an OP also called it in. While the OP is praised, folks want to make certain the original poster known in affidavits as “John” gets a reward, because he’s down on his luck. Read on for more details.

Down On His Luck – Homeless

The man who most likely led the police to the break that ended the chase is known as “John.” Well, we tracked his handle down, but will also respect that desire for privacy. It’s now known that John is a former Brown student who has reportedly been living in the basement of a campus engineering building.

While his own situation might have been rough, it was his sharp instinct and quick decision that led to the conclusion of the Brown University mass shooting case by law enforcement. On Reddit, under another post about the killer, John wrote about the “grey Nissan with Florida plates, probably a rental,” which he noticed behind the Rhode Island Historical Society on Cooke Street.

Instinct Raised Suspicions

Additionally, he also wrote that he’d watched the suspect, now known to be Neves Valente, a dropout from the university, act suspiciously. As he approached the car, suddenly “something made him back away,” and then the suspect re-locked the car.

John thought the action was “weird” enough to mention after the person walked off around the corner. In fact, he actually mentioned the suspect wasn’t dressed for the weather, and they actually engaged in a bit of conversation.

It was that one tiny tidbit that enabled the FBI to trace the car and finally pinpoint the storage unit. There, the suspect in the shooting was found dead and identified.

Bridging The Gap

Naturally, the news got the chatter going on Reddit again. It came when an OP mentioned they had reported the tip by John. So, the community is singing the praises of the local tipster who, upon seeing the Reddit post, immediately contacted the cops.

Without that connection, John’s vital piece of information could have simply been another overlooked post in the vast realm of the internet. Officials have it that “the team blew this case right open” through the original tipster. who apparently was also a Brown University graduate 

Give The Man His Reward

Now, people are talking about how John can be helped rather than just congratulating him. A lot of folks who follow true crime on social media are in support of the FBI reward of $50K being given to him.

One user on a subreddit wrote:

I understand your desire for privacy bro and are probably following instructions from your interview.

I myself, the city, really the entire state, the victims to include their families and really the entire nation, I am sure would like to applaud you and extend our thanks for your efforts.

You didn’t have to do what you did. You saw someone acting shady and put your own life on the line. And after that went above and beyond to communicate these interactions. In my book you did really save the day not once but TWICE.

You deserve the FBI reward money. I know you didn’t do what you did for reward money but you’ve earned it. If you don’t get it please let us know. I’m sure that a fundraiser wouldn’t have an issue hitting that mark.

Notably, many others agree that the reward for the true crime tip should happen. But, some of them felt a bit skeptical about the reward as rumor has it, they don’t always pay out.

One of them penned, “He deserves the $50,000 reward money but the FBI doesn’t have a great track record of paying them out.”

GoFundMe Suggested 

Meanwhile, local authorities are pushing the process to get around the usual bureaucratic delays. Mayor Brett Smiley of Providence wrote a formal letter to the FBI Director Kash Patel on December 20, 2025, urging him to give John the “whole $50,000 reward.”

The FBI is often very discreet about offering rewards to a third party, but a Special Agent in Charge said, “It would be logical to think that, absolutely. That individual would be entitled to that.”

True crime watchers keep an eye out for that and if necessary, they hope to come up with a verified GoFundMe or a legal trust for John. Seriously, he needs a home and he wasn’t motivated by reward to do his civic duty.

Lots of people feel that someone who did a great service to the community while he himself was without a home, definitely deserves a new beginning. Especially as Valente also killed a professor from MIT at his home. Who knows how many others were in the killer’s sights?

What are your thoughts? Shout out in the comments below, and come back here often for all our true crime news and updates.