Brown University senior Phoebe Peus spoke on America’s Newsroom about her friend Ella Cook, one of two students killed in a campus shooting that remains under investigation by Rhode Island police and the FBI; Peus described how friends alerted her through a private app, how she tracked Ella’s location without getting a response, and how Ella’s warmth and cross-cultural friendships shaped those who knew her.
On Tuesday, Phoebe Peus appeared on America’s Newsroom to talk about Ella Cook, who was murdered in a shooting at Brown University. The campus attack is under active investigation and the suspect has not been publicly identified, leaving many questions for authorities and the community.
Peus explained that she and other friends learned of the danger through a private app and were told to shelter in place, while official campus communication was criticized in the interview. She said she repeatedly tried to reach Ella and even tracked her location to the classroom where she was believed to be, but never received a reply.
I didn’t really know. We kind of, I knew she was taking Principles of Economics which, the class is held in Barus & Holley, and 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 a hold of her.
The hosts described Ella as a classical pianist, fluent in French, and “a bright light” to everyone who met her. Peus, speaking through tears, painted a picture of someone who reached across boundaries and befriended people regardless of faith or politics, a quality that made her beloved on campus.
Ella was the type of person that, regardless of if you never met her before, she was… she really was just such a bright light. She was extremely welcoming, and it’s just such a devastating loss, I can’t believe that she’s not with us anymore.
[…]
Ella was the type of person… her best friend Lexie, who was actually the person who called me to tell me. She’s [Lexie] Jewish, and Ella’s the type of person who would go to Shabbat with her, and her friends would go to Mass with her.
Peus met Ella through the Brown Republicans Club, a small organization where the two became close almost immediately. She noted the club was small, about ten members, and that she and Ella were two of the main women who stuck together as friends and allies in that environment.
Not very big, 10 people or so, so the room is pretty small, and we’re all good friends. And, Ella and I are two of the main women in this club at Brown, so, we immediately kind of stuck to each other. She was a freshman at the time, the Spring when I met her, and kind of wanted some guidance going into her sophomore year.
During the segment, Dana Perino referenced the broader climate of threats and violence and asked how young conservatives, and students generally, could be supported through trauma. Peus emphasized the strong response from students and faculty, saying that support and unity were helping her cope and move forward.
Peus shared that she felt inspired to carry forward Ella’s spirit and to live more purposefully in her memory. She told a mutual friend that they should “live a purposeful life, for Ella,” a pledge that reflects how grief can be turned into motivation to honor a life taken too soon.
Ella really was outspoken. And she, I just wanted to live through her in that way, and try to make a difference. I spoke with a mutual friend who was also in Brown Republicans, and, he just said, “We have to live a purposeful life, for Ella.”
Throughout the interview, hosts and guests returned to the importance of remembering who Ella was, not just the facts of the crime. Bill Hemmer said it was “really, really important that we get to know her,” a point echoed by Peus and others who stressed that personal stories keep victims human and visible amid investigations and headlines.
While law enforcement works to find and hold the perpetrator accountable, those who knew Ella and the other victim, Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, are focused on preserving their memories. Friends say both students were vibrant members of campus life whose deaths left a profound hole in their communities.
The segment included a full conversation on America’s Newsroom and video material accompanying the interview.
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The piece closes with a reminder that public attention on the victims and the investigation remains crucial, both to demand answers and to honor the lives lost. For those closest to Ella, the response on campus and the call to live purposefully for her have become central to how they will carry on.
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