An aspiring neurosurgeon and a campus Republican died in the Brown campus shooting

An aspiring neurosurgeon and a student leader of Brown University's campus Republicans were in a study group preparing for an economics final, with the end of the semester in sight.

But the lives of MukhammadAziz Umurzokov and Ella Cook were cut short Saturday when a gunman opened fire inside a classroom in the engineering building. Nine others were wounded before the gunman fled. Investigators were still searching for him Monday.

As questions swirled about the gunman's motives and how he managed to walk away after the attack, relatives and friends of Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman from Brandermill, Virginia, and Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore from a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, tried to make sense of the loss.

Umurzokov decided at a young age that he wanted to go into medicine.

He made up his mind after suffering a neurological condition that required him to undergo surgery as a child and having to wear a back brace due to scoliosis. With a double-major in biochemistry and neuroscience, he hoped to go to medical school.

“He had so many hardships in his life, and he got into this amazing school and tried so hard to follow through with the promise he made when was 7 years old,” his sister, Samira Umurzokova, told The Associated Press by phone Monday.

Umurzokov was helping a friend at an economics final review session when someone walked into the classroom and began shooting.

“It’s just crazy unfair that all of that was taken from him in a second because of someone,” Umurzokova said.

He took it upon himself to help students who just immigrated to the United States and weren’t fully acclimated to the culture and language, said Umurzokova, whose family came to the country from Uzbekistan when she, her brother and sister were very young.

She said he would be using his phone at the dinner table and when his parents told him to put it away, he would say, ”‘No, I’m helping my friend with calculus homework.’”

When he wasn’t busy with schoolwork, he would play video games with friends and hang out at a book store with family. He had plans to take his sisters to see the movie “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” which comes out Friday.

“He was a thoughtful person,” Umurzokova said. “He always tried to include everyone in everything. and just always thought of other people before he thought of himself.”

Cook, of Mountain Brook, Alabama, was beloved in her Birmingham church and was vice president of the Brown College Republicans.

When announcing her death Sunday to the Cathedral Church of the Advent congregation, the Rev. R. Craig Smalley described her as “an incredible grounded, faithful, bright light” who encouraged and “lifted up those around her."

“Light shines in the darkness,” he told the congregation, urging members to love and pray for her parents.

Members of the Brown College Republicans were “devastated,” the club's president, Martin Bertao, said in a post on X.

“Ella was known for her bold, brave, and kind heart as she served her chapter and her fellow classmates,” Bertao said.

Joe Powers, the chairman of the Rhode Island Republican Party, said in a statement that Cook “embodied the very best of the next generation of conservative voices."

Even the White House acknowledged the death, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt writing in a message posted on X, “There are no words. Thinking of her family and friends, especially her parents. God please bless them.”

Relatives of Cook didn’t immediately respond to emails and phone messages seeking comment.

Only one of the nine people wounded had been released as of Sunday, Brown President Christina Paxson said. One was in critical condition and the other seven were in critical but stable condition.

Durham Academy, a private K-12 school in Durham, North Carolina, confirmed that a recent graduate, Kendall Turner, was critically wounded. The school said her parents were with her.

“Our school community is rallying around Kendall, her classmates, and her loved ones, and we will continue to offer our full support in the days ahead,” the school said in a statement.

Another wounded student, 18-year-old freshman Spencer Yang of New York City, told the New York Times and the Brown Daily Herald from a hospital bed that there was a mad scramble after the gunman entered the room where he and the other students were studying for finals. Many students ran toward the front of the room, but Yang said he wound up on the ground between some seats and was shot in the leg.

Yang, who expects to be discharged in the coming days, said he tried to keep some of the more seriously wounded students conscious until police arrived.

A member of the FBI Evidence Response Team searches for evidence near an ivy-covered wall following the shooting at Brown University, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Members of the FBI Evidence Response Team search for evidence near the campus of Brown University, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

People light candles at the beginning of a vigil, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., for those injured or killed during the Saturday shooting on the campus of Brown University. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

The United States flag flies at half-staff as a sign of mourning for the victim's of Saturday's shooting, on the campus of Brown University, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

People hold candles during a vigil, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., for the victims of Saturday's shooting on the campus of Brown University. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Alex Carey posted a hometown hundred and Usman Khawaja scored 82 after a dramatic, last-minute recall to help Australia reach 326 for eight at stumps on a hot opening day of the third Ashes test.

Paceman Joffra Archer (3-29) took three big wickets, including two in three balls immediately after lunch, and spinner Will Jacks (2-105) dismissed Australia's two leading scorers to give England a slight edge Wednesday in conditions that were ideal for batting.

Carey shared partnerships of 91 with Khawaja, who replaced Steve Smith at late notice, 59 with Josh Inglis, 26 with Pat Cummins and 50 with Mitchell Starc to keep Australia's innings moving at around four runs an over. He was out just before stumps for 106, mistiming a slower ball from Jacks.

Mitchell Starc, voted player of the match in the first and second tests, continued his impressive form against England and was unbeaten on 33 at stumps.

The temperature topped 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday and is forecast to get close to 40C (104F) on Day 2, which could make conditions tough on the bowling team.

The crowd of 56,298, a record for a test match at the Adelaide Oval, helped Carey thrive.

“A decent day's cricket. The crowd — 56,000 in Adelaide — it's pretty special,” Carey said. “To make a hundred here in front of home fans and family, it was a great moment.”

Carey played a key role in one of the most contentious moments in recent Ashes history when he stumped England's Jonny Bairstow in the acrimonious 2023 series. Carey threw down the stumps when Bairstow wandered out of his crease without checking if the ball was dead, a dismissal that ignited a storm across the cricketing world with Australian players verbally abused in the members’ Long Room at Lord's and political leaders weighing in.

After scoring his first Ashes century, which he dedicated to his late father and his family, Carey said in a TV interview he'd probably rather discuss the 2023 episode than dwell on the emotions of his big innings.

“I love playing cricket and I understand what comes with playing professional sport,” Carey said. "You’re not always going to be liked. There’s heroes and villains — that’s all part of the game.”

Smith led Australia to eight-wicket wins in Perth and Brisbane in the absence of Cummins. He hit the winning runs in Brisbane as Australia took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, leaving England needing a victory in Adelaide to have any chance of reclaiming the Ashes.

But Smith didn't recover in time from dizziness and nausea to start the third test, allowing Khawaja to return the lineup on the eve of his 39th birthday.

After Cummins won the toss and elected to bat in his first test since sustaining a back injury in July, Australia’s new opening partnership of Travis Head and Jake Weatherald was coasting against some fairly wayward bowling from Brydon Carse.

But Archer struck in his fifth over, cramping Weatherald (18) with a short ball at almost 148 kph (92 mph) and getting a top edge to fly up for an easy caught behind.

Brydon Carse took a wicket on the first ball of the next over as Australia slumped to 33-2, with Head (10) reaching for a drive and brilliantly caught by Zak Crawley low to the ground at short cover.

Khawaja had a reprieve on 5 in the 16th over when Harry Brook put down a catch at second slip. The veteran batter then rallied in innings-building partnerships with Labuschagne and Carey before lofting a slog-sweep Jacks directly to Josh Tongue in the outfield late in the middle session.

Players on both teams wore black armbands to honor the 15 people killed and dozens injured in an antisemitic attack on Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach on Sunday that targeted the Jewish community celebrating the start of Hannukah.

Police described the mass shooting as a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State.

Flags were flown at half-staff on Day 1 at the Adelaide Oval, where folk singer John Williamson performed his fabled song “True Blue” in a pre-match program that included a moment’s silence, the Indigenous “Welcome to Country” and the national anthems.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Australia's Alex Carey celebrates his century during play on day one of the third Ashes cricket test between England and Australia at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/James Elsby)

England players line up for the national anthem during play on day one of the third Ashes cricket test between England and Australia at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/James Elsby)

England's Ben Stokes directs his field during play on day one of the third Ashes cricket test between England and Australia at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/James Elsby)

England's Jofra Archer reacts during play on day one of the third Ashes cricket test between England and Australia at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/James Elsby)

England's Zak Crawley celebrates catching Australia's Travis Head during play on day one of the third Ashes cricket test between England and Australia at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/James Elsby)

Australia's Usman Khawaja plays a shot during play on day one of the third Ashes cricket test between England and Australia at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/James Elsby)

Australia's Mitchell Starc warms up during play on day one of the third Ashes cricket test between England and Australia at the Adelaide Oval, in Adelaide, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/James Elsby)

England's Ben Stokes walks after coin toss during play on day one of the third Ashes cricket test between England and Australia at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/James Elsby)

Australia's Jake Weatherald, left, and Australia's captain Steve Smith walk off the field after winning the second Ashes cricket test match between Australia and England in Brisbane, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025.. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)