Brown University shooting live updates: Victim named as manhunt for shooter who killed two continues
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Brown has canceled its remaining fall semester classes and the shooting has reignited the debate over gun control.
What we know
- A manhunt is underway after two people were killed and nine others wounded in a mass shooting at Brown University's campus in Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday.
- One of the victims fatally shot Saturday was named as Ella Cook, vice president of Brown College Republicans chapter. Another was named as MuhammadAziz Umurzakov, 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.
- The man earlier 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.
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 of 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 Muhammad Aziz Umurzakov
Muhammad Aziz Umurzakov 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.
Warriors coach Kerr laments shooting at Brown, calls again for commonsense gun control laws
PORTLAND, Ore. — Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr lamented that he was again speaking about gun violence before a game in Portland seven years after he addressed the horrific mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Kerr spoke last night before Golden State’s game at the Trail Blazers, a day after two people were killed and nine others were wounded in a shooting at Brown University.
“It’s just a reminder to me that these shootings continue to happen and there is something we can do about them,” Kerr said. “The loss that all of the people involved last night, the loss that they’re feeling, it’s exactly the same loss as all the Parkland families, and every other mass shooting. Nobody asked me about it today. I didn’t expect anybody to ask me. ... It’s human nature just to think `This is so horrible. Let’s just not even think about it.’ But, we have to think about it.”
Church victim Ella Cook attended remembers her as a 'bright light'
One of the slain victims of the Brown University shooting was identified as Ella Cook by her church at a Sunday morning service.
Cathedral Church of the Advent, located in Birmingham, Alabama, said Cook was killed in the shooting at the Ivy League school.
The church described Cook as an "incredible grounded, faithful, bright light" both growing up in the church "but at Brown University, she was an incredible light in that particular place as well."
The church asked members at the service to "pray for the Cooks. Give thanks for Ella."
"And as a community, let us stand and sing together and grieve with people with deep and abiding and very real hope."
Shooting victim named as Ella Cook, vice president of Brown College Republicans
One of the two people killed in Saturday’s shooting at Brown was Ella Cook, College Republicans of America said in a statement last night.
Ella Cook. Brown University College Republicans
Cook was vice president of the Brown College Republicans, the statement said.
"Ella was known for her bold, brave, and kind heart as she served her chapter and her fellow classmates. Our prayers are with her family, our Brown CR's, and the entirety of the campus as they heal from this tragedy," Martin Bertao, president of the College Republicans of America, said on X.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shared the post on X and added: "There are no words. Thinking of her family and friends, especially her parents. God please bless them."
For two Brown University students, school shooting wasn’t their first
Mia Tretta, one of the students wounded in the 2019 shooting at Saugus High School, speaks during a news conference on gun legislation July 22, 2022, at Santa Monica College. Hans Gutknecht / MediaNews Group via Getty Images file
Amid the scores of fearful and worried students following Saturday’s shooting at Brown University were two who have been here before.
Mia Tretta, 21, was shot in the 2019 mass shooting at Saugus High School, about 40 miles north of Los Angeles. A 16-year-old boy carried out that attack, killing two, including Tretta’s best friend, and injuring three before fatally shooting himself.
Zoe Weissman, 20, attended Westglades Middle School, adjacent to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, when a former student opened fire, killing 17, in 2018.
Person of interest in Brown University shooting to be released as manhunt for killer is underway
A person of interest identified in Saturday’s mass shooting at Brown University will be released from custody, authorities said late yesterday, sparking a manhunt for the killer.
“Evidence now points in a different direction,” Gov. Dan McKee said at a news conference last night.
The 24-year-old man was detained yesterday morning, three senior law enforcement officials told NBC News. Last night, officials said there was no longer a reason to keep him in custody in connection with the shooting, which killed two students and wounded nine other people at the Ivy League school.
