‘Bright Light Taken Too Soon: Brown University Student Ella Cook Killed in Campus Shooting’

Providence, R.I. — The Brown University community is reeling after 19-year-old sophomore Ella Cook, a vibrant engineering student known for her kindness and faith, was confirmed as one of the two young people killed in a mass shooting that stunned campus on Saturday afternoon. Cook’s name was shared publicly for the first time during a memorial service at her home church, the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama, where she was remembered as a “bright light” whose warmth extended from her hometown to her Ivy League campus.

The deadly incident unfolded around 4:05 p.m. on December 13, 2025, inside a first-floor classroom in the Barus & Holley engineering building — a busy hub of classrooms and labs on Brown’s campus — while students were gathered for final examinations and review sessions. Two people were killed and nine others were wounded as a gunman opened fire, sending students scrambling for cover and triggering a rapid police response.

Rev. Craig Smalley, speaking to parishioners on Sunday, described Cook as deeply grounded in faith with a generous spirit whose influence reached far beyond her coursework. “She was engaged and involved in our worship and in our community,” Smalley said, urging continued prayers for her family, friends, and the broader Brown community as they grieve.

At Brown, classmates and faculty echoed these sentiments, recalling Cook not just as a driven student and vice president of the Brown chapter of the College Republicans, but as someone whose presence lifted others around her. Her tragic death has left many searching for both answers and ways to honor her memory.

In the chaotic hours after the shooting, authorities briefly detained a person of interest at a hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island, but later released him after determining there was no evidence linking him to the attack. Police and university officials have emphasized that no suspect is currently in custody and the investigation remains active, with law enforcement combing through video and tips in hopes of identifying the gunman.

Students who survived recount harrowing escape scenes: classmates huddled in lockdown locations across campus as alerts urged them to lock doors, silence phones and shelter in place. Brown University later established a reunification center at the Nelson Fitness Center to help families and loved ones connect amid ongoing fear and heartbreak.

As the university community begins the difficult work of healing, tributes to Cook and vigils for all the victims have filled campus and social feeds. Her story — a young life of promise abruptly cut short — has become a focal point for grief, reflection and calls for renewed attention to campus safety across the country.