Friends of Ella Cook ’28 said she was a devout Christian who had an ear for French and a passion for piano and politics. She had hoped to work at a think tank.
“Ella would wear bright-pink sweaters, big gold hoop earrings, and a floor-length green coat to class on gloomy days,” said Elina Coutlakis-Hixson ’28. “The corners
of her eyes would crinkle when she let out a shy laugh.”
Coutlakis-Hixson delivered these reflections about her friend Cook to thousands of students, faculty, and staff who gathered in Sayles Hall, at locations around Brown’s campus, and online for a memorial service honoring the lives of Cook and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov ’29, both of whom died in the shooting at Barus & Holley on December 13, 2025.
During the service, Umurzokov was remembered as extroverted and curious, funny and caring, and always ready to join a friend for a walk across campus or a late-night talk. He planned to become a neurosurgeon.
“The world lost a bright light who made others feel seen. A future neurosurgeon who wanted to save lives. Someone irreplaceable,” Vanessa Finder ’29 said at the memorial. Among the lessons Umurzokov taught her, Finder added, was that “it is okay to laugh during painful times such as now.”
The service also recognized the nine students who were injured and continue to recover, as well as the shared grief and recovery of the entire Brown community, one still processing the deep loss.
To find peace amid such loss “requires a leap of faith that is grounded in optimism and hope,” President Christina H. Paxson said in her remarks. “But remember, hope is central to who we are as Brunonians. It’s embedded in our history and geography.
“It’s written in our school motto, In Deo Speramus, In God We Hope.”
Paxson added: “Let Ella’s courage to listen and Mukhammad’s drive to serve motivate us to reach higher, to do better, to be better. We’ll carry them with us, not as a weight of sorrow, but as a light to guide our way.”
Ella Cook
Ella Cobbs Cook arrived at Brown from Mountain Brook, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. Cook was the daughter of Anna Bishop Cook and Richard Poellnitz Cook and the sister of Richard Hooker Poellnitz Cook and Mary Hamner Cook.
At her December funeral in Birmingham, Rev. Paul F.M. Zahl read from a letter sent to Cook’s parents by a Brown classmate. “Ella,” it said, “had a uniquely quiet gravity.”
Cook graduated from Mountain Brook High School and was an active member and volunteer leader at her church. At Brown, she pursued interests in French and Francophone studies, math, and economics. In a released statement, the president of the College Republicans of America said she was known for her “bold, brave, and kind heart as she served her chapter and her fellow classmates.”
Tommy Leggat-Barr ’28 met Cook in the first-year seminar “How to Think in an Age of Polarized Politics.” Leggat-Barr wrote in the Brown Daily Herald that Cook “bridged ideological divides, seeking to foster authentic mutual understanding.”
Cook lifted up her friends. As Coutlakis-Hixson told fellow mourners in Sayles, “she would walk with you in step in the face of any challenge or hurdle without a single air of competition, jealousy, or malice. She pushed you to be better, to be more courageous, and to reach beyond what you thought was possible for yourself.”
As accomplished as she was, she never boasted. “When you asked her about her passion for piano, she brushed it off and insisted she was in need of practice, and then you came to find out that she was actually a prodigy,” Coutlakis-Hixson said.
“She could do math that looked like hieroglyphics and she spoke French with a graceful precision and finesse.”
In Sayles, Graham Oliver, a professor of classics and of history, and Cook’s faculty adviser, recalled asking Cook about her career goals during a recent advising meeting.
“Ella said that she was not one to seek out the limelight, nor was she necessarily comfortable in standing up and speaking before large audiences,” Oliver said. “Her own direction at that moment was to look towards being part of a think tank, to make changes behind the scenes.”
During the memorial, Coutlakis-Hixson cited the biblical passage Matthew 5:3–4 that she said was meaningful to Cook. She read: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Coutlakis-Hixson said, “It took me 18 years to meet a true friend like Ella, and the heartbreak of losing her so soon has created a deep hole in my life. But her unique devotion to our friendship and undying love has raised the bar in my understanding of what it means to be a friend.”
MukhammadAziz Umurzokov
MukhammadAziz Umurzokov arrived at Brown from Midlothian, Virginia, a suburb of Richmond. Umurzokov was an immigrant and a U.S. dual citizen from Uzbekistan. He was the son of Fazliddin and Gulnoza and had two sisters, Rukhsora and Samara.
“MukhammadAziz was known for his sharp intellect, kind heart, and quiet willingness to help anyone in need,” the American Uzbekistan Association wrote in a social media post. “He carried himself with humility and compassion, earning the respect and affection of those around him. His curiosity, discipline, and generosity reflected both his character and the values of the community that raised him.”
At Midlothian High School, he was president of the Model United Nations chapter and captain of the Scholastic Bowl team. At Brown, he immersed himself in campus life, joining the Science Olympiad, Model UN, Addiction Medicine Club, and Quizbowl. He planned to concentrate in biochemistry and molecular biology.
“Academically, he was a genius, one of the smartest people I have ever met,” Finder said. “And despite his intelligence, he was incredibly humble.”
Finder also remembered Umurzokov’s dry sense of humor, his authenticity, and the remarkable generosity of his friendship. Speaking for three friends who stood behind her at the podium, she said, “We have never met someone so invested in our lives, so attentive to our emotions, and so enthusiastic about spending time with us. He taught us what true friendship is.”
Talia Sherman ’26 told the Brown Daily Herald that she and Umurzokov became friends after he approached her and others on the main green and simply began talking to everyone. “I’ve never met someone so fearless and driven in their confidence,” Sherman said. “I wouldn’t have known him if it weren’t for how much he was willing to put himself out there and meet everyone.”
Speaking in Sayles, Environmental Sciences Professor James Kellner remembered meeting Umurzokov when the young man introduced himself at the end of a review session. Kellner was struck by the certainty with which Umurzokov stated that he wanted to be a neurosurgeon. “Here was a person who had found his purpose.” Umurzokov told him the goal was inspired by medical care he’d received. As a child, Umurzokov had Chiari malformation, in which brain tissue extends into the spinal cord. It’s treated with brain surgery.
“Here [Umurzokov] stopped, and he said, ‘I have the scar to prove it,’” Kellner recalled. “He pointed to the back of his neck.”
Many in Sayles experienced the shooting firsthand, Kellner acknowledged. “Mukhammad had the scar to prove it. Now, you do too.”
Umurzokov chose his path “when the care he received awakened a desire to serve others,” Kellner said. “We’re told the living must become worthy of the dead. All of us honor Mukhammad by committing our agency to finding purpose and meaning in service of others.”