A vice president of College Republicans and an aspiring neurosurgeon have been identified as the two students killed in the mass shooting at Brown University on Saturday.
Ella Cook, of Birmingham, Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, of Virginia, were named as the two students killed when a gunman opened fire inside a classroom in the Barus and Holley engineering building on the campus of the university in Providence, Rhode Island. Nine other students were wounded.
Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham said Cook was one of its parishioners.
“Some of you haven’t heard, a lot of you have heard … [about] the tragedy yesterday at Brown University, the shooting of a number of people,” Rev. Craig Smalley said in a video the church posted of its Sunday service. “Tragically, one of our parishioners, Ella Cook, was one of those who was killed yesterday.”
Smalley said that Cook “encouraged and lift[ed] up those around her.”
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“And those of you who knew her, those of you who know her, she was an incredible grounded faithful bright light … at Brown University, she was an incredible light in that particular place as well.”
Cook was a sophomore at the university. She was also vice president of the Brown University College Republicans.
Virginia leaders named Umurzokov as the second victim killed.
“I am heartbroken to learn that Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov — who just graduated from Midlothian High School — is among the victims of the horrific act of violence at Brown University,” Virginia Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger wrote on X. “Adam and I are praying for his family and all those impacted by this tragedy.”
Umurzokov’s family wrote in a GoFundMe post that he “had big dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon and helping people.”
“He always lent a helping hand to anyone in need without hesitation, and was the most kind-hearted person our family knew,” the post read. “Our family is incredibly devastated by this loss.”
The New York Times reported that Umurzokov and his family are naturalized citizens from Uzbekistan now living in Virginia.
The College Republicans of America posted that it was “devastated” following Cook’s death.
“Ella was known for her bold, brave, and kind heart as she served her chapter and her fellow classmates,” the group said in a statement. “Our prayers are with her family, our Brown CR’s, and the entirety of campus as they heal from this tragedy.”
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Officials did not immediately release the identities of the victims as they worked to notify their families.
One of the nine wounded students has been released from the hospital, officials said Sunday. Seven others were in critical but stable condition, and one was in critical condition.
One wounded student was identified as Kendall Turner. Durham Academy, the private K-12 school that Turner attended in Durham, North Carolina, told Fox News in a statement that Turner’s family informed them that she is receiving care at a local hospital.
Police announced that a person of interest was taken into custody early Sunday morning, though later that night officials said the individual was being released.
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Authorities remain active in their search for the killer. Police said surveillance video showing a man dressed in all black is still the “most useful” to help track down the gunman.
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