Two Victims Identified in Brown University Shooting as Police Persist in Hunt for Killer.
Both young individuals who lost their lives in the recent tragic incident on the university campus were being remembered Monday – amid a widespread hunt for their assailant continued following the discharge by local law enforcement of the sole person detained in connection in the case.
Honoring a Lost Student
The student Ella Cook, a second-year student from Alabama, was described as “an incredible, grounded, faithful, bright light”, per the Cathedral Church of the Advent, Birmingham, which honored her memory at a gathering on Sunday.
Her role included vice-president of Brown’s division of the campus GOP group, according to the organization. Karoline Leavitt also posted sympathies online, saying in part: “It's indescribable. Remembering her kin and peers, especially her parents.”
An International Student
The second fatality was an Uzbek national named MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an Uzbek national in his initial year at the renowned school, according to relatives.
Umurzokov’s identity was verified by the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“He was exceptionally gentle, witty, and bright. His ambitions were lofty of pursuing a career in neurosurgery and aiding others,” Samira Umurzokova, his sister said in a online post.
The Shooting Incident
Nine other people were wounded in the violent event in the engineering building of Brown’s campus in Providence, during the university's examination week.
Law enforcement reported by the end of Sunday that a 24-year-old male taken into custody in a raid at a lodging about approximately 17 miles from the scene earlier in the day was released from custody.
“A perpetrator remains free,” stated Peter Neronha, Peter Neronha.
Neronha explained, “Occasionally a probe goes down a path, and then you have to regroup and go in another, and that’s exactly what has happened over the last approximately one day.”
Community Anxiety
Providence’s mayor, Brett Smiley, noted: “It is expected to provoke fresh anxiety for our community”.
The assailant opened fire inside a room in the engineering facility on over the weekend, shooting over four dozen bullets from a 9mm pistol, a law enforcement official reported to the news agency.
Law enforcement that raided the lodging found a pair of pistols and two ammunition clips when the person of interest was detained, the news agency reported.
Condition of the Injured
Among those wounded, one pupil was allowed to go home, said Christina Paxson, Christina Paxson. An additional seven were in serious yet stable state, and one remained in critical care, authorities stated on Sunday.
An educational institution, a private K-12 school in North Carolina, said a former student, Kendall Turner, was in the group of seriously hurt victims.
Further Tributes
Tributes were paid to Cook at a memorial in Birmingham on Sunday. A pastor commented, “She was an incredible, grounded, faithful bright light not only here growing up... but at the university she was an incredible light in that particular place as well.”
The president of College Republicans, Martin Bertao, posted a statement from the club. “Ella was known for her fearless, heroic, and gentle spirit as she aided her club and other students,” he said.
Jonathan Henick, Jonathan Henick, said he was “profoundly grieved” by the passing of Umurzokov in a message. “We offer our heartfelt sympathies to Mr Umurzokov’s family, loved ones, and fellow students and grieve for of his potential.”
Wider Picture
Saturday’s killings at Brown, the seventh oldest in the US higher education institution with about over seven thousand undergraduate and three thousand graduate students, took place amid one of at least nearly 400 mass shootings documented across the United States so far in 2025, according to statistics. Monday was the 349th day of the year.
