What we know
- A manhunt is underway after two people were killed and nine others wounded in a mass shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday.
- One of the victims who was killed was named as Ella Cook, vice president of the Brown College Republicans chapter. The other was named as Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, from Uzbekistan, in central Asia.
- Officials have emphasized the investigation is moving quickly, with evidence being collected by multiple agencies, but they are not yet confirming details that could compromise the case.
- A man detained as a person of interest was set to be released last night because the evidence no longer supported holding him, officials said.
- Brown has canceled its remaining fall semester classes and the shooting has reignited the debate over gun control and how to protect college students before and during mass shootings.
Ballistics evidence led to release of initial person of interest, officials say
The man initially detained by authorities as a person of interest in the Brown University shooting was released last night in part due to ballistics evidence.
A comparison between one of the guns found with the man and the ballistics recovered at the scene of the shooting did not match, according to two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter.
What that specific evidence was — ammunition, shell casing, etc. — was not detailed to NBC News.
However, it was one of the factors that made it clear to law enforcement that they didn’t have a case for holding the individual any longer.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha confirmed to NBC News that the man is not a suspect in the shooting and is not being surveilled.
Police release new video of person of interest
The Providence Police Department released new surveillance video today of a person of interest and is asking for the public's help in identifying the individual in the video.
'He’s not just a victim, he’s a person'
Jack Diprimio, 23, a grad student at Brown studying public policy, met Mukhammad Umurzokov at a legal philosophy book event in September. He had asked the author a question that the author didn’t appear to be happy about, and Umurzokov approached him after to laugh about the situation.
He was interested in neuroscience and becoming a doctor. “But he wasn’t just interested in STEM, he also was really interested in philosophy and law and politics and the way society works, and he was passionate about politics.”
“Mukhammad realized I was a grad student, and I sort of became a resource for him to talk about, like my work experience, my work in politics," Diprimio said. "And we talked about what classes he was taking but he was interested in science, but also strongly interested in politics, in international affairs. He just had a real academic passion for so many subjects.”
“I felt protective of him,” he said.
“He had questions about undergrad relationships, friends. And the thing is, like, you know, I would just often run into him on campus," Diprimio said. "He would sit down — if I was working at a coffee shop — we’d chat about his week. The last time I talked to him was on campus about movies coming out, and the last thing I told him was that he should see ‘Wicked.’”
“He texted me the day before the shooting, he was telling me about some of his plans for the weekend," he said. "And the last message I sent him was on Saturday, because I heard he was missing, and I just said, 'Where are you?' And it went unanswered.”
“He was very curious and open. He loved talking to new people. He was genuinely interested in other people and their lived experiences, and he was very passionate," Diprimio said. "He would speak highly of his friends and his family, and you could tell he was just happy to be at Brown and trying to make as much of it as possible. He was very curious.”
“He’s not just a victim, he’s a person.”
What we know about the Brown University students killed in shooting
The two Brown University students killed in the mass shooting Saturday were identified as Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook.
Umurzokov was from Uzbekistan in Central Asia and “had a bright future” ahead of him, his aunt Karina Gabit said.
She described him as “very kind” and smart. She said he wanted to be a neurosurgeon after he underwent brain surgery when he was 10.
Cook, 19, from Birmingham, Alabama, was remembered by her church there as “an incredible, grounded, faithful, bright light“ who encouraged those around her.
“Not only here, growing up here at the Advent and myriad ways in which she served faithfully and the ways she encouraged and lift up those around her, but at Brown University, she was an incredible light in that particular place as well,” the priest at Cathedral Church of the Advent said during a Sunday service.
“Pray for the Cooks,” he said.
Virginia officials remember slain victims
Virginia's governor-elect, Abigail Spanberger, remembered Brown shooting victim Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov in a post on X.
Spanberger said Umurzokov just graduated from Midlothian High School in the state. She added that she is heartbroken over his death and that she is praying for his family and all those impacted.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin similarly said in a post on X that he was praying for Umurzokov and the other victim, Ella Cook.
"We lift up their families, friends and communities in a prayer of comfort and peace," Youngkin said.
University of Rhode Island cancels in-person classes following Brown shooting
In-person classes at the University of Rhode Island have been canceled for the day, the school announced in a statement.
Online exams scheduled for today will "proceed as scheduled," the school said.
URI noted there is no known threat to campus — located in Kingston, about 30 miles south of Brown's campus in Providence, Rhode Island — but that the decision was made following "consideration of concerns shared by members of our community."
Alabama senators pay tribute to slain Brown victim Ella Cook
Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville paid tribute in a post on X to Ella Cook, one of the victims who was killed in the Brown University shooting. She was from his state.
"I am heartbroken to hear that Mountain Brook’s Ella Cook was among those killed over the weekend at Brown University," Tuberville wrote. "Our hearts and our prayers are with the Cook family and everyone impacted by this senseless killing."
Sen. Katie Boyd Britt, also of Alabama, said in her tribute that she is in mourning Cook's death.
"There are no words that can ease the pain Ella's family and friends are enduring write now," Britt wrote. "Her beautiful life was taken far too soon."
Second slain Brown victim identified as Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov
Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov was named the second slain victim of the Brown University shooting by the Uzbekistan Foreign Affairs Ministry.
"The loss of innocent lives as a result of this tragedy is a heavy loss for all of us," the ministry said in a post on Telegram. The post added that representatives from Uzbekistan have been in contact Umurzakov's family.
Umurzokov’s aunt, Karina Gabit, also confirmed the death to NBC News.
"He was very kind, smart. Attended talented and gifted schools," she said. He "wanted to be a neurosurgeon 'cause when he was 10 he had a very serious eight-hours-long brain surgery."
She continued: "We hoped that he would have had a bright future....His mom called me in the middle of the night."
Providence mayor says detained person was released based on evolving evidence
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said on "Good Morning America" that evolving evidence led officials to release someone they had detained as a person of interest.
After processing evidence overnight, "it was determined that this person of interest needed to be released," Smiley said. He added that the investigation continues.
"To be clear, we’ve never stopped our investigation," Smiley said. "Providence police and our partners and state police, the FBI and others, have continuously run down leads and work this case beyond the person of interest who had been detained yesterday."
Smiley noted that it was determined that the former person of interest did not need to be detained any longer but did not rule out that that person had something to do with the mass shooting.
"Until such time as we have an individual in custody who we’re confident is responsible that we’re prepared to press charges and then prosecute, we’re going to continue to leave all doors open until such time is that we’re in a place where we feel confident that we’ve got the right person," Smiley explained.
He said officials believe the person responsible was a lone shooter and that evidence suggests the suspected shooter acted alone.
In the meantime, there is an enhanced police presence on campus and throughout the city, Smiley said. Since the initial call for the shooting came in, Smiley said there has been no indication of more violence or further threats in the city.
Brown University provides update on shooting
In a post on X this morning, Brown University shared the news that the detained person was released and that the Rhode Island attorney general determined "there is no basis" for that individual to be considered a person of interest.
As the investigation continues, local police have said they do not believe there is any threat to Brown or the local community, the post said.
