PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A 19-year-old Brown University sophomore and campus political leader was among two students killed in a shooting during a finals review session over the weekend, as questions mount about the handling of the investigation by federal authorities.
Ella Cook, a vice president of Brown’s College Republicans club, was confirmed as one of the victims of the Dec. 13 campus shooting. Her identity was announced during a church service in her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama.
The second victim has been identified in news reports as Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, a freshman at the university.
The shooting took place Saturday afternoon inside the Barus & Holley building, where students were gathered for a finals review session. Nine others were wounded. One, Kendall Turner of North Carolina, remains in critical condition, while the others are reported to be in stable condition.
Cook was a sophomore active in campus life and student leadership. Friends, clergy, and classmates described her as a “bright light” with a grounded, faithful presence in both her church and university communities.
She was also vice president of the College Republicans club, a role that placed her at the center of political organizing on campus.
In the hours following the shooting, law enforcement agencies, including the FBI under Director Kash Patel, detained a person of interest at a hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island.
Authorities later released that individual, saying there was insufficient evidence to connect him to the shooting. Officials confirmed he was no longer considered a person of interest, and no charges were filed.
The suspect remains at large. The investigation is ongoing with assistance from local police and federal authorities.
The brief detention and subsequent release have drawn criticism online, particularly from some conservative commentators and supporters of Cook. Critics argue that the FBI moved too quickly to publicize the detention, only to reverse course shortly afterward.
Some critics went further, calling the episode a humiliation for Patel — arguing officials chased social media headlines and hyped a detention while the real shooter is still on the loose.
The criticism comes amid broader scrutiny of Patel’s leadership and the FBI’s public communications. Earlier controversies included confusion over suspect detentions in the investigation into the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, where initial claims about someone being in custody were later walked back.
For now, Brown University remains on edge as students mourn the victims and law enforcement continues its search for the person responsible.
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