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Rhode Island House honors Brown University shooting victims and praises first responders
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Summary
The Rhode Island House on Jan. 6 passed a resolution honoring two Brown University students killed in a Dec. 13 shooting and adopted a companion resolution praising law enforcement, medical personnel and first responders for their response; both measures passed by voice vote.
The Rhode Island House of Representatives on Jan. 6 adopted a resolution honoring two Brown University students killed in the Dec. 13 campus shooting and passed a companion resolution praising federal, state and local first responders and medical personnel who responded to the incident.
"We open our session with heavy hearts," the presiding officer said in opening remarks as members observed a moment of silence for the victims and the survivors.
Representative Lita Blazajewski introduced the resolution honoring the memory of the students and asked it be submitted and placed on file. She also said she had a second resolution praising the coordinated efforts of law enforcement and medical staff, naming Providence Mayor Brett P. Smiley, Attorney General Peter Neronha, Providence Police Chief Colonel Oscar Perez, Providence Fire Chief Derek Silva and medical personnel at Rhode Island Hospital.
The House considered the memorial resolution by voice vote. When the presiding officer called for 'ayes,' members answered and the speaker declared, 'the ayes have it,' adopting the resolution and instructing the secretary of state to transmit certified copies to the families named in the resolution.
The formal resolution text in the record recounts that the Dec. 13 shooting occurred in the Barris and Holly Building, home to Brown's School of Engineering and Department of Physics, and lists the two students by name in the resolution as Ella Cook and Muhammad Aziz Amerzikhov. The resolution also thanks Providence firefighters, emergency medical personnel and hospital staff for their actions in the immediate aftermath and directs the secretary of state to transmit duly certified copies of the resolution to the families and officials named.
The House also approved, by voice vote, a resolution praising local, state and federal law enforcement and medical professionals for their 'heroic efforts' that saved lives, and authorized transmittal of matters on the clerk's desk to the governor and other officials.
The House adjourned after brief ceremonial remarks and a private celebration for Speaker Pro Tem Kennedy's birthday.
