Authorities are looking into a connection between last week's mass shooting at Brown University and the death of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Nuno Loureiro, local media reported, citing multiple individuals familiar with the matter.
The individuals spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the matter, AP News explained.
Investigators are reportedly searching for a person of interest, believing that the vehicle rented by the Brown University shooter is of the same make and model as the one identified in the investigation into Loureiro's killing, according to The New York Times.
According to AP, the FBI had previously said it knew of no links between the cases.
On Thursday night, officers in SWAT gear and law enforcement vehicles, including some police cars from Providence and the Rhode Island State Police, were seen surrounding a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, about 30 km north of downtown Boston, according to Reuters.
Quoting a source familiar with the probe, Reuters noted that the police activity in Salem was allegedly related to the investigation.
Two shot at Brown Uni, MIT professor gunned down in home
The shooting at Brown University left two students dead and another nine people wounded. Police have released surveillance footage showing the possible shooter in order to gain the public's help in identifying the assailant.
"We are doing everything we can to reassure folks, to provide comfort, and that is the best answer I can give to that difficult question,” AP quoted Providence Mayor Brett Smiley as saying as he acknowledged that "a scary time in the city."
Loureiro, however, was found critically wounded by gunfire inside his home in the town of Brookline near Boston on Tuesday, some 80 km away from Brown University. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead in the early morning hours.