GOP Student Leader Killed at Brown

A churchgoing, young Republican leader was among the victims killed during the shooting at Brown University on Saturday.

Ella Cook, a Brown sophomore from Alabama and vice president of the Brown College Republicans, was identified as one of the two people killed when a gunman opened fire in the Barus & Holley Engineering and Physics Building during final exams, according to multiple reports.

Authorities said nine others were injured. Police have not announced a motive, and a "person of interest" detained Sunday was later released.

The College Republicans of America confirmed Cook's death in a statement mourning "the loss of our Brown College Republicans Vice President, Ella Cook," calling her "bold, brave, and kind" and asking for prayers for her family, the campus, and the Brown chapter as they grieve.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also reacted publicly, writing early Monday on X: "There are no words. Thinking of her family and friends, especially her parents. God please bless them."

Cook's faith was central to her life, her church said.

ABC News reported that Cook was a parishioner at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama, where Rev. Craig Smalley announced her death during a Sunday service.

Smalley described Cook as "incredibly grounded and generous and faithful — a bright light" in the church and in her community.

WPRI similarly quoted Smalley calling Cook an "incredible, grounded, faithful bright light" who served others both at church and at Brown.

Brown President Christina H. Paxson described the shooting as a "deeply tragic day" and said there were "truly no words" to express the sorrow, according to ABC News and The Independent.

But for families watching another campus tragedy unfold, "no words" is not a sufficient answer, and the public is again left demanding how a gunman was able to bring terror into an exam setting.

In Providence late Sunday, authorities acknowledged that evidence had led the investigation "in a different direction" and that the shooter remained at large. Officials also said the released detainee would not face charges at this time.

As the manhunt continues, Cook is being remembered not as a political label, but as a young woman of conviction — rooted in faith, active in her community, and willing to lead.

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