Tipsheet

Oh, We Know What the Brown University Shooter Reportedly Said Before Opening Fire

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  December 16, 2025 6:55 AM

Well, if you caught that snippet from last night’s shambolic presser about the Brown University shooting, you’ll know that the authorities are still not answering what the shooter allegedly said before the attack. There are too many witnesses saying the same thing, so next time this circus comes before the podium, they'd better have an answer. It’s been making the rounds on social media, but witnesses claim the shooter yelled, ‘Allahu Akbar’ before opening fire. Two people were killed in the attack, and another eight were wounded. Ella Cook, 19, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, 18, have been identified as the decedents  (via The Center Square):

Authorities are continuing to search for a lone gunman who killed two Brown University students, including the 19-year-old vice president of the elite college's Republican club and a recent high school graduate from Virginia, in a mass shooting at the school over the weekend.

The attack occurred Saturday in Providence, R.I., at the Ivy League school's engineering building as students were taking final exams, authorities said. The victims included Ella Cook, a 19-year-old Brown sophomore and vice president of the Brown College Republicans club and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, who finished studies at Midlothian Highschool in Chesterfield County, Va., earlier this year.

Several media outlets quoted students and other witnesses saying that the shooter yelled "Allahu Akbar" before opening fire in the building.  

Many questions remain, like how the shooter was able to enter the building. They don’t know. There were reports that the suspect might have targeted a class taught by a Jewish professor, who was not in attendance that evening. Her teaching assistant was overseeing the class. A person of interest was arrested and later released hours later. The gunman remains at large. No solid footage of the suspect exists thus far, despite being in an area with plenty of Ring cams.  

It's these types of shambolic pressers that tend to give birth to scores of conspiracy theories.