Authorities have identified the two students killed in Saturday's Brown University shooting as Ella Cook, vice president of the campus College Republicans, and neuroscience student Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov. An initial person of interest detained early Sunday has been released, and the masked gunman remains at large.
Authorities have released the names of the two students killed in the December 13, 2025, mass shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, as the search continues for the gunman.
The attack, which occurred during final exams inside an engineering building, left two students dead and nine others injured, according to law enforcement and university officials. The campus and surrounding neighborhood were placed under lockdown Saturday evening; the shelter-in-place order was lifted early Sunday, though a heavy police presence has remained.
The victims have been identified as 19-year-old sophomore Ella Cook, a parishioner at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama, and vice president of Brown's College Republicans club, and 18-year-old Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, a first-year Brown student who immigrated from Uzbekistan as a child and had ambitions of becoming a neurosurgeon.
A report from The Daily Wire notes that College Republicans of America described Cook as having a “bold, brave, and kind heart” in a statement mourning her death. The national organization said its prayers were with Cook’s family and the Brown chapter as the campus grieves. In social media posts cited by The Daily Wire, William Branson Donahue, founder and chairman of College Republicans of America, suggested he believed Cook may have been targeted for her conservative views, but authorities have not announced any motive, and investigators have said publicly that the motive remains under investigation.
The American Uzbekistan Association said in a statement, reported by The Daily Wire and other outlets, that Umurzokov “was known for his sharp intellect, kind heart, and quiet willingness to help anyone in need,” describing him as humble and compassionate. Separate tributes from family and community members in the U.S. and Uzbekistan have similarly described him as a bright and promising student with aspirations to become a neurosurgeon.
Vice President JD Vance paid tribute to both victims in posts on X, according to The Daily Wire, praising Cook’s “special courage” for leading a conservative student group on what he described as a left-leaning campus and calling Umurzokov a “brilliant young man who dreamed of being a surgeon.”
Investigators say the shooter entered a classroom, shouted something that witnesses could not clearly recall, and then opened fire, discharging more than 40 rounds from a handgun, according to accounts from local officials and hospital spokespeople cited by the Associated Press and other outlets. Two students were killed and nine others suffered gunshot wounds; at least some of the injured remain hospitalized, with conditions ranging from stable to critical, officials have said.
Early Sunday, authorities detained a man at a hotel in Coventry, about 20 miles from Providence, and initially described him as a person of interest in the case. According to an Associated Press report summarized in The Daily Wire’s "Morning Brief," he was held for roughly 12 hours before being released after investigators determined he was not involved. Rhode Island’s attorney general later stated there was no basis to consider him a person of interest, and ballistics evidence did not match a firearm in his possession, according to multiple news reports.
Surveillance footage released by police shows a suspect wearing dark clothing and a face covering walking away from the scene. As of Tuesday, authorities say the gunman remains at large and is considered armed and dangerous. Officials have not announced any arrests, and they continue to ask the public for video or other information that could help identify the shooter.
No motive has been established. While some political figures and commentators, including leaders of College Republicans of America, have publicly speculated that Cook may have been targeted for her conservative activism, law enforcement officials have not confirmed any such link and have emphasized that the investigation is ongoing.
Brown University has canceled all remaining classes, final exams, papers, and projects for the fall semester and has expanded counseling and mental health services for students, faculty, and staff, according to statements from university leaders. The campus remains under heightened security as the community mourns the two students and awaits further developments in the investigation.
