Shattered Dreams: Brown University Mourns College Republican Leader Ella Cook and Aspiring Neurosurgeon Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov

By Grok News Desk December 25, 2025

The Brown University community remains in profound mourning following the tragic mass shooting on December 13, 2025, that claimed the lives of two promising students: 19-year-old sophomore Ella Cobbs Cook, vice president of the Brown College Republicans, and 18-year-old freshman Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, an aspiring neurosurgeon inspired by his own childhood brain surgery.

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File:Barus and Holley Building, Brown University.jpg – Wikimedia …

The Barus and Holley Building at Brown University, where the shooting occurred during a finals review session.

The attack unfolded shortly after 4 p.m. in an auditorium-style classroom in the Barus and Holley Building, home to the School of Engineering and Physics Department. A masked gunman entered during a Principles of Economics final exam review session and opened fire, killing Cook and Umurzokov while injuring nine others. Students scrambled for cover amid chaos, with survivors describing a scene of terror during what should have been a routine study period.

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Man suspected in Brown University shooting and MIT professor’s …

Law enforcement responds to the scene on the Brown University campus following the deadly shooting.

Ella Cook, from Mountain Brook, Alabama, was a talented pianist fluent in French, studying French and mathematics-economics. Known affectionately as “Ellabama” for her proud Southern roots, she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority and deeply involved in her faith at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham. Described as “smart, confident, curious, kind, principled, brave,” she left a lasting impression in her short time at Brown.

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Portraits of Ella Cobbs Cook, the vibrant sophomore remembered for her leadership, faith, and kindness.

Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, who immigrated from Uzbekistan to Virginia as a child, was studying biochemistry and neuroscience on a scholarship. A stellar scholar and former president of his high school’s Model UN chapter, he dreamed of becoming a neurosurgeon after undergoing brain surgery at age 10. Friends and family recalled him as “incredibly kind, funny, and smart,” with a “sharp intellect” and willingness to help anyone.

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Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, the promising freshman whose compassion and intellect touched many.

Brown President Christina H. Paxson eulogized the pair: “These were two young people whose amazing promise was extinguished too soon… Both were brilliant and beloved.” The suspect, 48-year-old former Brown graduate student Cláudio Manuel Neves Valente, was later found dead by suicide in New Hampshire, also linked to the killing of an MIT professor.

In the aftermath, the campus united in grief with candlelight vigils at Van Wickle Gates, where flowers, candles, and photos accumulated in growing memorials.

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brown.edu

Community members gather for vigils and leave tributes at memorials honoring Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov.

Ella’s funeral on December 22 in Birmingham drew hundreds, celebrating her “record of love” and faith. A GoFundMe for Mukhammad’s family raised significant support amid international tributes.

This tragedy, amid ongoing national conversations on campus safety and gun violence, highlights the fragility of young lives full of potential. Ella and Mukhammad’s legacies—as a bold leader and a compassionate future healer—will endure.

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browndailyherald.com

Community gathering honors victims of shooting incident – The …

A solemn gathering on campus as the Brown community honors two extraordinary students lost too soon.