Journalist Mark Halperin says College Republicans VP may have been target in Brown shooting
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND: Veteran journalist Mark Halperin has shed light on unconfirmed rumors that hinted that Ella Cook, the vice president of the College Republicans of Brown University, might have been the main ‘target’ in a shooting on campus that eventually led to her death.
The shooting that happened on Saturday, December 13, 2025, in which Ella Cook, a sophomore, and another student were killed, has resulted in a police investigation with no suspect apprehended.
Halperin emphasized the fact that the report was not verified when he was speaking on Monday’s edition of 2WAY’s ‘The Morning Meeting.’
Ella Cook was one of the most visible conservatives on campus
“The Brown one’s a little complicated because I don’t know that any news organization has reported this, but I’ve been besieged with messages from people who are really concerned about the report.” said Halperin.
He kept on going about how Ella Cook’s family had been informed that she might be the target. “Thank you, thank you. That the family of Ella Cook, the Alabama young woman who was a sophomore, has been told that she was the target of what happened at Brown.”
“But if it’s true that she was targeted, that’s a big story because she was one of the most visible conservatives on that campus,” he said.
The Daily Caller’s Amber Duke, one of Halperin’s two guests, then submitted that there are “a couple of things” that “lend credence to that theory.”
‘This was some kind of targeted attack’, says podcast guest
“Typically, when we see mass school shooters, they don’t just stop and walk away, right? Usually they keep going until they’re apprehended by police, shot dead, or they kill themselves,” said Duke.
Amber Duke was on the same page with the theory when he referred to the shooter's behavior as not typical.
“I believe in being transparent here. If I were editing The New York Times, I don't think I’d put it in the paper,” says @MarkHalperin. But people are telling me that the family of Ella Cook, the Alabama young woman who was a sophomore, has been told that she was the target of… pic.twitter.com/MgcwIBEIKu
— 2WAY (@2waytvapp) December 16, 2025
Duke explained that mass shooters generally do not stop their actions abruptly without confrontation, suicide, or being taken by the police.
Since the police are ending lockdowns without making arrests, it indicates that there has been a targeted killing and not a random act of violence; thus, it is in line with the secret language of political tension about Ella's role.
“And the other thing is if the police are telling Brown students that they are safe, they don’t have to shelter in place anymore, but they don’t have a suspect in custody, I think that also suggests that this was some kind of targeted attack,” continued Duke.
