In a devastating turn amid unimaginable grief, the family of Ella Cook, the 19-year-old Brown University sophomore tragically killed in the December 13, 2025, campus shooting, has released the last remaining photos capturing her vibrant life. These cherished images – snapshots of her smiling brightly, playing piano, and spending time with loved ones – are now all they have left, as every digital memory stored on her phone was inexplicably wiped clean in the aftermath of the attack.

Ella, a talented student from Mountain Brook, Alabama, majoring in French and mathematics-economics, was one of two students fatally shot when a masked gunman stormed a review session in the Barus and Holley engineering building during final exams week. The other victim was Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, a promising freshman aspiring to become a neurosurgeon. Nine other students were injured in the chaos, with some still recovering from critical wounds.

Described by friends, family, and her church community as a “bright light” – kind, faithful, bold, and deeply caring – Ella was an accomplished pianist, fluent in French, and an active member of her Episcopal congregation back home. She served as vice president of the Brown College Republicans and was known for uplifting those around her, regardless of differences. Her obituary highlighted her love for children, travel, dance, and her unwavering Christian faith, noting she “carried a kind of personal magic” that touched everyone she met.

The family’s pain is compounded by the mysterious loss of Ella’s phone data. In the hours following the shooting, friends desperately tracked her location via shared apps, hoping she had simply fled and dropped her device. But as the grim reality set in, authorities recovered her phone – only to find all photos, videos, messages, and personal records erased without explanation. This unexplained deletion has left her loved ones robbed not just of their daughter, but of countless irreplaceable digital moments from her college life, travels, and daily joys.

As the manhunt continues for the suspect – described as a figure in dark clothing who appeared to scout the area hours beforehand – the Brown community reels from the violence. University President Christina Paxson called the victims “brilliant and beloved,” their promising futures cut tragically short. Vigils have drawn hundreds, with candles lighting the night in remembrance, while exams were canceled and support services ramped up.

Ella’s family, respecting their request for privacy, has shared these final analog and older photos through close channels, a poignant reminder of the joyful young woman taken too soon. Her story underscores the profound personal losses behind headlines, leaving a nation mourning yet another senseless act on a campus that should have been a place of growth and safety.