Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) ordered flags in the state to be flown at half-staff until sunset on Friday in memory of 19-year-old Ella Cook, one of the victims who was shot and killed at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
“I have directed flags to be flown at half-staff until sunset, Friday, December 19, 2025, in memory of Ella Cook of Mountain Brook,” Ivey wrote in a post on X. “As all of Alabama wraps our arms around Ella’s family in prayer, I also join in mourning her loss.”
Ivey’s post comes as Cook, who served as the vice president of Brown University’s College Republicans group, was identified as one of the victims who was killed after an unidentified gunman opened fire inside a building on campus, leaving two people dead and nine others injured.
In a post on X, Martin Bertao, the President of College Republicans of America, issued a statement saying the organization was “devastated to learn of the loss” of Cook. Bertao said Cook was “known for her bold, brave, and kind heart.”
“We are devastated to learn of the loss of our Brown College Republicans Vice President, Ella Cook,” Bertao 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.”
Leadership at the Cathedral Church of the Advent, located in Birmingham, Alabama, where “Cook and her family worshiped,” was reported to have “addressed the congregation with visible grief,” according to ABC3340 News:
At Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, where Cook and her family worshiped, clergy addressed the congregation with visible grief. During Sunday’s service, a church leader described Ella as “incredibly grounded, generous, faithful, and a bright light engaged in our worship and our community for many years.” He said he shined in Birmingham and “was such a light and such a witness” during her time at Brown University.
Breitbart News’s AWR Hawkins reported that on Monday afternoon, the Providence Police Department released a video of a “person of interest” related to the shooting at the university.
This came after the first person of interest was taken into custody Sunday, and was “released later that same day.”
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