Both Deceased Students Identified in Brown University Attack as Police Continue Hunt for Gunman.

Both young individuals who died in Saturday’s tragic incident on the university campus had tributes paid to them on Monday – as a manhunt for their assailant persisted following the release by Rhode Island officials of the single suspect of interest in the case.

Tributes for Ella Cook

The young woman Ella Cook, a sophomore from Alabama, was described as “an incredible, grounded, faithful, bright light”, per the Birmingham's Cathedral Church of the Advent, which honored her memory at a service on Sunday.

Cook was the vice-presidency of Brown’s branch of the campus GOP group, the group said. Karoline Leavitt also posted condolences publicly, remarking: “Words cannot express. Thinking of her kin and peers, especially her parents.”

MukhammadAziz Umurzokov

The other deceased individual was an Uzbek national named MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, from Uzbekistan in his initial year at the Ivy League university, his family confirmed.

Umurzokov’s identity was verified by the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“He possessed remarkable kindness, humor, and intelligence. He had big dreams of entering the field of neurosurgery and helping people,” Samira Umurzokova, his sister said in a tribute.

What Happened

Nine more persons were hurt in Saturday’s attack in the engineering department of Brown’s grounds in Providence, during the school’s final exam period.

Officials stated late Sunday that a 24-year-old male taken into custody in a search at a Hampton Inn about 17 miles from the campus earlier in the day was released from custody.

“There is a killer at large,” stated Rhode Island’s attorney general, Peter Neronha.

Neronha explained, “Occasionally a probe goes down a path, and then you must reassess and pursue a different angle, and that’s exactly what has happened over the last approximately one day.”

Ongoing Concerns

Brett Smiley, Brett Smiley, admitted: “This will probably generate new worry for our public”.

The assailant discharged a weapon inside a room in the engineering facility on over the weekend, shooting over four dozen bullets from a handgun, a law enforcement official reported to the Associated Press.

Law enforcement that raided the inn seized two handguns and two loaded 30-round magazines when the suspect was arrested, according to reports.

The Wounded Victims

Among those wounded, a single scholar was discharged from care, mentioned Christina Paxson, Christina Paxson. An additional seven were in grave but unchanging health, and one remained in critical care, police said on Sunday.

An educational institution, a independent school in Durham, North Carolina, said Kendall Turner, Kendall Turner, was among those critically wounded.

Further Tributes

Tributes were paid to Cook at a church service in Birmingham on Sunday. A clergyman said, “She was an incredible, grounded, faithful bright light not only in her youth... but at Brown she was an incredible light in that specific location as well.”

A group leader, Martin Bertao, shared a message from the group. “She was famed for her fearless, heroic, and gentle spirit as she aided her club and fellow classmates,” he said.

An American diplomat, Jonathan Henick, said he was “profoundly grieved” by the student's death in a message. “We extend our sincere condolences to Mr Umurzokov’s family, loved ones, and fellow students and mourn the loss of his bright future.”

National Context

The weekend's murders at Brown, the nation’s seventh-oldest college with about thousands of bachelor's and three thousand graduate students, took place amid one of at least 392 mass shootings reported in the US so far in 2025, according to data. The following Monday was the 349th day of the year.