We study photon localization in a gas of cold atoms, using a Dicke Hamiltonian that accounts for photon mediated atomic dipolar interactions. The photon escape rates are obtained from a new class of random matrices. A scaling behavior is observed for photons escape rates as a function of disorder and system size. Photon localization is described using statistical properties of random networks which display a "small world" cross-over. Those results are compared to the Anderson photon localization transition.