Both young individuals who lost their lives in Saturday’s mass shooting on the university campus had tributes paid to them on Monday – while an intensive search for their assailant continued following the discharge by Rhode Island officials of the only individual questioned in the case.
The young woman Ella Cook, a second-year scholar from Alabama, was called “an amazing, stable, pious, radiant soul”, according to the Advent Cathedral in Birmingham, which honored her memory at a service on Sunday.
Her role included second-in-command of Brown’s division of the campus GOP group, the group said. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also posted words of sorrow online, saying in part: “It's indescribable. Thinking of her kin and peers, particularly her mother and father.”
The other deceased individual was MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, a citizen of Uzbekistan in his initial year at the Ivy League university, his family confirmed.
Umurzokov’s identity was confirmed by Uzbekistan’s foreign ministry.
“He possessed remarkable kindness, humor, and intelligence. He had big dreams of pursuing a career in neurosurgery and aiding others,” his sister, Samira Umurzokova said in a tribute.
Nine more persons were hurt in Saturday’s attack in the engineering building of Brown’s grounds in Providence, during the school’s final exam period.
Authorities said on Sunday evening that a man aged 24 taken into custody in a police operation at a Hampton Inn about around 27 kilometers from the university earlier in the day was being released.
“There is a killer at large,” said Peter Neronha, Peter Neronha.
He continued, “Investigations can lead one way, and then you must reassess and pursue a different angle, and this is precisely what occurred over the last day or so.”
Brett Smiley, Brett Smiley, acknowledged: “This will probably generate fresh anxiety for our community”.
The shooter discharged a weapon inside a lecture hall in the engineering facility on Saturday afternoon, shooting over four dozen bullets from a 9mm pistol, a law enforcement official told the media outlet.
Law enforcement that searched the lodging seized a pair of pistols and two ammunition clips when the suspect was arrested, as was reported.
Among those wounded, one student was allowed to go home, mentioned the university president, Christina Paxson. Seven others were in grave but unchanging health, and one was in critical condition, officials reported on Sunday.
An educational institution, a independent school in the city of Durham, said a former student, Kendall Turner, was one of the critically injured.
Tributes were paid to Cook at a church service in Birmingham on Sunday. A clergyman said, “She was an incredible, grounded, faithful bright light not only during her upbringing... but at Brown she was a radiant presence in that specific location as well.”
A group leader, Martin Bertao, released remarks from the organization. “Ella was recognized for her courageous, valiant, and compassionate nature as she served her chapter and peers,” he said.
An American diplomat, Jonathan Henick, said he was “extremely sorrowful” by the passing of Umurzokov in a tribute. “We extend our sincere condolences to the Umurzokov family, companions, and schoolmates and lament the passing of his promising future.”
The fatal shooting at Brown, the nation’s seventh-oldest higher education institution with about thousands of bachelor's and postgraduate students, took place amid one of at least 392 shooting incidents documented across the United States so far in 2025, according to data. The following Monday was the 349th day of the year.
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