Ella Cook, one of the students killed in the mass shooting at Brown University, was a parishioner at Adventist Cathedral in Birmingham, Alabama, the church announced during a Sunday, Dec. 14, service.
“Many of you have heard about this tragedy…and sadly, one of those people was one of our parishioners,” the Rev. Craig Smalley said in a live address.
Smalley described Cook as a “bright light” who was active in the church and wider community and “very down-to-earth, generous and loyal”.
Cook’s LinkedIn profile shows she will begin attending Brown University in 2024.
Alex Shieh is Brown’s Republican vice president, according to her social media posts. Alex Sheikh left the school earlier this year over his Governor-inspired “Swell@Brown” movement.
“Being a conservative at Brown has not always been the easiest, but Ella has never been afraid to share her beliefs on a predominantly liberal campus and support others in doing so,” Shaikh wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“Last spring, when I was under disciplinary investigation for my conservative student newspaper’s coverage of the Brown administration, almost no one wanted to be associated with me,” he added. “Ella was one of the few people who would stand with me in public and help hand out newspapers in front of the restaurant.”
Earlier on Sunday, December 14, WRAL News and the News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina, reported that the injured students included Brown University freshman Kendall Turner.
Turner is an alumnus of Durham College in Durham, North Carolina, according to an email sent to the school community.
Turner underwent surgery and is resting in critical but stable condition, the email said. Her parents arrived in Providence Saturday night.
This article originally appeared in The Providence Journal: Brown University student killed in mass shooting, identified as Ella Cook