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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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An Alabama church has identified one of the victims killed in Saturday's mass shooting at Brown University as Ella Cook, a student at the university and one of the church's parishioners.
Reverend Craig Smalley of the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham announced Cook’s death at a service on Sunday morning.
"Tragically one of our parishioners, Ella Cook, was one of those who was killed yesterday," he said during the service.
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"She was an incredible grounded, faithful, bright light, not only here, growing up here at the Advent and the myriad ways in which she served faithfully, in the ways in which she encouraged and lift up those around her. But at Brown University, she was an incredible light in that particular place as well."
Newsweek has contacted the church for further comment via an email sent outside regular business hours.
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The Context
A gunman opened fire in the university’s engineering building during final exams on the Ivy League campus in Providence, Rhode Island on Saturday afternoon, killing two people and injuring nine.
A search for the suspect remains underway, after officials on Sunday night said a person of interest will be released after law enforcement determined there was no basis to keep the individual in custody.
What to Know
Before attending Brown, Cook worked as a server at the Mountain Brook Creamery in Birmingham and spent time last summer working as a program assistant for Oxbridge Academic Programs in New York City, according to her LinkedIn page.
Friends who had worked at the ice-cream parlor with Cook said they were proud of her for attending an Ivy League university.
"We would just be so proud of her, every time she would talk about Brown all of us would just be like 'She's going to Brown!’" Sophie Grace Rhodes told local news station ABC 33/40.
Another friend, Gavin Thornhill, described her as someone who was always smiling and "super fun to be around."
"Just a special human, only those that come around once in a lifetime," Thornhill told the station.
At Brown, she was the vice president of the Brown chapter of College Republicans of America.
She was known for her "bold, brave and kind heart," Martin Bertao, the president of the organization, said in a statement.
The identity of the other student who died in Saturday’s shooting has not been released, but his roommate Khimari Manns described him to CBS Boston as kind and a "ball of joy." Manns said his roommate was intelligent and studying neuroscience.
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What People Are Saying
Martin Bertao, the president of College Republicans of America, said in a statement posted on X: "We are devastated to learn of the loss of our Brown College Republicans Vice President, Ella Cook. 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."
Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican, wrote on X: "Tragic and heartbreaking. Heidi and I are lifting Ella’s family up in prayer. May God’s peace and comfort be upon them in the face of this unimaginable grief."
Alabama’s Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth wrote on X: "Ella Cook, a sophomore student from Birmingham, was killed in the shooting at Brown University on Saturday. Ella was a devoted Christian and a committed conservative who represented the very best of Alabama. A bright future was ended much too soon. Join me in lifting up her family in prayers of comfort."
What Happens Next?
Brown has canceled all remaining classes, exams, papers and projects for the semester and told students they could leave campus.
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