A Wheeler High School graduate safely evacuated Brown University after a mass shooting on campus killed two students and injured several others.
What’s Happening: Edward Kim, a freshman engineering student at Brown University and a graduate of Wheeler STEM Magnet School, left campus Saturday after a shooting broke out in Providence, Rhode Island. Kim returned home to Marietta after Brown officials canceled the rest of the semester and final exams.
What’s Important: Two students were killed and nine others were shot during the attack. The suspect has not been identified and remains at large as law enforcement agencies across New England continue searching.
The Details: Authorities say the shooting happened inside an academic building on Brown’s campus. The students killed were Ella Cook, 19, of Mountain Brook, Alabama, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, an Uzbeki national who attended high school in Midlothian, Virginia. Nine others were injured, including 18-year-old Jacob Spears from Columbia County, Georgia, who is recovering in a hospital. One victim has been released, one remains in critical condition, and seven are listed as stable.
What He Said: Kim said he decided to leave campus after hearing from his mother following the shooting. “We felt that the right decision was to leave immediately,” Kim said during a television interview. When asked if he would hesitate to return to campus if the shooter remains at large, Kim responded, “Absolutely.”
Background: Kim graduated from Wheeler High School in May after attending the school’s STEM Magnet program. As a student, he participated in a walkout following a deadly shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder. He has also been involved in youth political efforts, including supporting a Cobb County Board of Education candidate in 2024 and serving as a youth advisor to U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick in 2023.
The Investigation: Police have released images and video of a man they say is the suspect and are asking the public for help identifying him. The search for the shooter remains ongoing.
