(NewsNation) — A Birmingham church announced Sunday one of its beloved members was killed in the shooting on Brown University’s campus.

Cathedral Church of the Advent reported that Ella Cook was a longtime parishioner along with her family, calling her a “tremendous light and such a witness.”  

“Tragically, one of those people is one of our parishioners, Ella Cook, was one of those who was killed yesterday,” said Rev. Craig Smalley, according to WHDH.

Smalley said Cook “encouraged and lifted up those around her.”  

“She was an incredibly grounded, faithful, bright light not only here, at the Advent as she was engaged and involved in our worship and in our community as she served here at the church,” he announced to the congregation. “But at Brown University she was an incredible light in that particular place as well.” 

Alabama Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth asked the public to pray for Cook, who he said was a sophomore.

“Ella was a devoted Christian and a committed conservative who represented the very best of Alabama. A bright future was ended much too soon,” Ainsworth wrote on X. 

The shooting occurred during one of the busiest moments of the academic calendar, as final exams were underway. Brown canceled all remaining classes, exams, papers and projects for the semester and told students they could leave campus, underscoring the scale of the disruption and the gravity of the attack.

The shooter remains at large.

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