19-Year-Old Sophomore Student Identified as Victim of Brown University Shooting: ‘Bright Light’

One of the two people killed in the mass shooting at Brown University has been identified as 19-year-old student Ella Cook.

Cook’s name was announced during a Sunday, Dec. 14 service at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Ala., where she attended. During the service, which was streamed live on Facebook, the church’s Rev. Craig Smalley remembered Cook as a “bright light.”

“Tragically, one of our parishioners, Ella Cook, was one of those who was killed yesterday,” Smalley said. “She was an incredible, grounded, faithful, bright light. Not only growing up here in the ways… she encouraged and lifted up those around her, but at Brown University. She was an incredible light [there] as well.”

Smalley became emotional as he asked the congregation to pray for Cook’s family.

Cook was one of two people killed after a gunman entered an engineering building on Brown’s campus and opened fire at around 4 p.m. local time on Dec. 13. Nine others were injured.

According to Cook’s LinkedIn page, she began studying at Brown University in 2024 and planned to graduate in 2028.

Officials previously said the Providence Police Department had detained a man initially described as a “person of interest,” but he was later released for lack of evidence. “There is no basis to consider him a person of interest,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said.

In an open letter published Sunday, Brown said Providence police continue to lead the investigation and have informed the university that search efforts remain ongoing, including coordination with multiple agencies. The university added that the case remains an active police investigation and said it must defer to the Providence Police Department for further information as authorities deem appropriate.