Conservative Activist Ella Cook, Murdered at Brown, Killer Is Loose

Conservative activist Ella Cook is one of two students murdered in the mass shooting at Brown University. The man who was detained as a person of interest, Benjamin Erickson, was released. They still don’t have the killer. There are reports online that the killer sought her out and shot her.

🚨 BREAKING: A manhunt is now full-steam ahead this morning after police RELEASED Brown University shooting person of interest Benjamin Erickson.

Evidence now “points in a different direction.”

This is a total MESS. pic.twitter.com/WlEk4Ab7Ch

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 15, 2025

Claims online that she was targeted came from an unreliable source, but who knows. She was a leader of a 20-member conservative group on campus.

In a post, former Brown student Alex Shieh said she was “still in shock over the news from Brown University.” Both of those killed and all of those injured were students.

“And it broke my heart to learn that Ella Cook, a sophomore from Alabama, is no longer with us,” she said. “I knew Ella through Brown Republicans, where she was vice president. Being a conservative at Brown isn’t always the easiest, but Ella was never afraid to share her beliefs on an overwhelmingly liberal campus and support others in doing so.

“Last spring, while I was under a disciplinary investigation for reporting on Brown’s administration for the conservative student paper, almost nobody wanted to be associated with me. Ella was one of the few who were willing to stand with me in public and help hand out newspapers in front of the dining hall.

“Everyone at Brown who knew Ella, regardless of their politics, found her to be friendly and kind. My thoughts are with Ella’s family. Ella was a promising young leader taken too soon.”