Brown University shooting victim ID’d; person of interest released

​ (The Center Square) —  Authorities are continuing to search for a lone gunman who killed two Brown University students, including the 19-year-old vice president of the elite college’s Republican club, and wounded nine others in a mass shooting at the school over the weekend.

The shooting occurred Saturday in Providence, R.I., at the Ivy League school’s engineering building as students were taking final exams, authorities said. The victims included Ella Cook, a 19-year-old Brown sophomore and vice president of the Brown College Republicans club. The other victim, along with those injured in the shooting, hasn’t yet been identified. 

Several media outlets quoted students and other witnesses saying that the shooter yelled “Allahu Akbar” before opening fire in the building. 

Authorities briefly detained a “person of interest” on Sunday night but said the man was released because the evidence no longer supported keeping him in custody. Rhode Island officials were forced to apologize after the name of the potential suspect was leaked to the press. 

Attorney General Peter Neronha told reporters at a Sunday night press briefing that “evidence now points in a different direction” and that there “is no basis to consider him a person of interest” in the shooting.

President Donald Trump briefly addressed the Brown University shooting ahead of his remarks Sunday at a White House holiday party. He offered his condolences to those who were killed in the shooting and said he hoped those who were injured will “get well fast.” 

“To the families of those two that are no longer with us, I pay my deepest regards and respects from the United States of America,” the president said.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the Boston field office, which has been assisting law enforcement in Rhode Island, has set up a command post to investigate the shooting.

“We have deployed local and national resources to process and reconstruct the shooting scene — providing HQ and Lab elements on scene,” Patel posted on X Sunday night. “This FBI will continue an all out 24/7 campaign until justice is fully served.” 

Brown issued a statement Sunday night saying that there are “numerous questions” about the shooting. The building where it occurred remains an active investigation, and police will release information as appropriate.

“We continue to make every effort to ensure the safety and security of the campus,” the school said. “We are also advising every member of the Brown community to be vigilant in their own activities on campus.”

Meanwhile, condolences were pouring in for Cook, who was confirmed as one of the two victims in the shooting by members of a Birmingham, Ala., church where she was a parishioner. 

“Ella was known for her bold, brave, and kind heart as she served her chapter and her fellow classmates,” Martin Bertao, president of the College Republicans of America, said in a statement. “Our prayers are with her family, our Brown CR’s, and the entirety of the campus as they heal from this tragedy.”