Friend of Brown University victim Ella Cook gives tearful tribute after ‘devastating loss’
Brown University student Phoebe Peus, a close friend of shooting victim Ella Cook, discusses her friend’s legacy and how young conservatives can heal amid tragedy on ‘America’s Newsroom.’
A Brown University senior is mourning the loss of her friend Ella Cook, one of the students killed in Saturday’s campus shooting, calling it a "devastating loss" for the community.
"It’s just such a devastating loss. I can’t believe that she’s not with us anymore," Phoebe Peus said Tuesday on "America’s Newsroom."
Peus and 19-year-old Ella Cook, one of two confirmed victims, met at the Brown Republican Club, where Cook served as vice president. Peus described the club as close-knit and said her friend was a "bright light."
"Ella was really outspoken. I just want to live through her in that way and try to make a difference," she said.
This undated file image shows Ella Cook, a Brown University student who was killed in a mass shooting on campus in Providence, R.I., Dec. 13. (@elinacoutlakis/Instagram)
Peus said she only learned there was an active shooter on campus when friends called her in a panic, not from school officials.
"At Brown, we use a platform called Sidechat, which is pretty much an anonymous text chat. And this chat was blowing up, saying that there’s a shooter," she said.
Though Peus did not personally see the messages about the incident, she said her friends did and immediately called her while she was on her way to the science library. She said she was "completely unaware" of the situation until those calls came in.
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"I had previously told my friends that I was walking to the science library… I was about three minutes away from the library when my friends called me and said, ‘Phoebe, there’s an active shooter. You need to turn around right now,’" Peus said.
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She said that after hours passed without hearing from Cook and noticing that her phone location had not changed, she began to fear the worst.
"Her location hadn't moved. And we were all just hoping that she had dropped her phone running out, and that's why we couldn't get ahold of her," Peus said.
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Freshman Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov was confirmed as the second victim of the shooting. A GoFundMe from his family noted that Umurzokov "had big dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon and helping people," and asked that people keep him in their thoughts and prayers.
Police arrested a person of interest in the case, but that individual was later released. The shooting left at least nine others injured on the Ivy League campus.
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