Brown University students killed in shooting have been identified (Monday, 11:15 a.m.)

A Brown University first-year with “big dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon” and a sophomore described as “an incredible, grounded, faithful bright light” have been identified as the two people killed Saturday in the mass shooting on the Providence campus. “I am deeply saddened by reports of the tragic death of Brown University student Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov on December 13,” U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan Jonathan Henick wrote on the embassy’s website Monday. “We extend our sincere condolences to Mr. Umurzokov’s family, friends, and fellow students and mourn the loss of his bright future.” Umurzokov graduated from Virginia’s Midlothian High School in May and was studying biochemistry and neuroscience at Brown, according to his LinkedIn. “He was incredibly kind, funny, and smart,” a relative wrote on a GoFundMe page. “He had big dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon and helping people. He continues to be my family’s biggest role model in all aspects.” The fundraiser, which had already surpassed $250,000 as of mid-morning Monday, is intended to help Umurzokov’s family cover expenses following his death. Any excess funds will be donated to a charity in his name, according to the GoFundMe description. Umurzokov “always lent a helping hand to anyone in need without hesitation, and was the most kind-hearted person our family knew,” the description reads. “Our family is incredibly devastated by this loss.” Speaking to WPRI, his roommate, Khimari Manns, described Umurzokov as a “ball of joy” who “raised everybody else up.” Manns also said that when he returned to their shared room for the first time after the shooting, “it felt like there was a ghost.” Earlier, sophomore Ella Cook’s Birmingham, Alabama, church identified her as one of the students killed Saturday. Cathedral Church of the Advent’s Rev. Craig Smalley was visibly emotional as he spoke of Cook during a Sunday morning service, describing her as “an incredible, grounded, faithful bright light” both at home and at school. “Pray for the Cooks,” he urged. “Give thanks for Ella and her deep and beautiful and winsome faithfulness. And as a community, let us stand and sing together, and grieve with people with deep and abiding and very real hope.” The College Republicans of America also identified Cook as vice president of the Brown University College Republicans. “Ella was known for her bold, brave, and kind heart as she served her chapter and her fellow classmates,” the organization’s president, Martin Bertao, said in a statement. “Our prayers are with her family, our Brown CR’s [sic] and the entirety of the campus as they heal from this tragedy.” Bertao’s statement was reposted by a number of national Republican figures, including White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who wrote, “There are no words. Thinking of her family and friends, especially her parents. God please bless them.”