WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Alabama’s Republican federal lawmakers sent a letter to Brown University Wednesday asking for answers on what they said were its weakened security measures on campus before the December shooting that left two students dead.
Mountain Brook graduate Ella Cook was one of the individuals who was killed by a gunman when he entered a classroom on the university’s campus last year. Nine others were injured.
Britt and Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., led the letter addressed to Brown’s President Christina Paxson, arguing that the school “prioritized activists’ radical demands over student safety.”
“After more than a decade of poor choices, Brown leadership’s decisions left its campus and students vulnerable on December 13, 2025,” the lawmakers wrote.
The lawmakers said that the university had five officers on duty, unsatisfactory security cameras and ignored warnings about the assailant on the day of the shooting.
“Brown’s mistakes were not isolated lapses; they were the predictable outcome of an institutional culture so corroded that it treated legitimate law enforcement and physical security as ideological threats rather than essential protections,” the lawmakers wrote.
The letter also accuses Brown of violating the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act, which requires colleges that receive federal financial aid to disclose campus crime data, maintain public crime logs and publish annual security reports outlining reported crimes and campus safety policies. Statistics through 2023 are reported in the federal database.
A spokesperson for Brown University told Alabama Daily News that the school is currently reviewing the letter.
“We are disheartened to see persistent misunderstandings about Brown University’s enduring commitment to maintaining a safe and secure campus,” the university said. “We are committed to protecting the safety of students, faculty, staff and visitors to our campus, and our consistent actions over many years demonstrate that commitment.”
The spokesperson added that Brown is working on a review and “comprehensive Campus Safety and Security Assessment” of the Dec. 13 shooting.
“To put it simply, there has been no deviation in embracing an enhanced public safety model or approach to security — only a continuous commitment to both law enforcement best practices and community involvement in light of evolving needs and circumstances.”
In December, the Education Department announced a program review of Brown’s compliance with the Clery Act less than two weeks after the shooting. The Brown spokesperson said the university is fully cooperating with the government’s review.
Britt and the other lawmakers asked Paxson to respond to five questions by June 1, including how the university has handled previous threats and an explanation of the “17-minute delay” in activating the alert system on Dec. 13.
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and U.S. Reps. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville, Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, Mike Rogers, R-Saks, Dale Strong, R-Hunsville, and Gary Palmer, R-Birmingham, signed onto the letter. Four Republican lawmakers from other states also signed.
The letter follows Britt’s remarks at a recent hearing with Education Secretary Linda McMahon about the Brown shooting. During the hearing, she shared a timeline of Brown’s decisions and campus incidents that she said contributed to weakened safety protections.