Louisville Activist Indicted in Shooting Attempt of Mayoral Candidate [UPDATED]

Updated as of 4/1/2022 at 11 a.m. ET

Louisville activist Quintez Brown, 21, has been indicted on attempted murder charges after shooting at mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg, reported the Associated Press. Brown reportedly fired several shots at Greenberg in his campaign headquarters. Speculators thought Brown’s activism for racial justice drove him to violence.

A Louisville grand jury indicted Brown on one count of attempted murder and four counts of first-degree wanton endangerment as four of Greenberg’s staff were present when the shooting happened, per AP News. Brown has reportedly been on house arrest since the Louisville Community Bail Fund paid his $100,000 bond for his release from jail.

According to The Courier Journal, Brown entered Greenberg’s office and began shooting. None of the other four people in the room were injured, but a bullet grazed Greenberg’s shirt. A staff member reportedly shut the door and others helped block the door with tables. Brown was later identified as the suspect.

From The Courier Journal:

A police report says a man later identified as Brown fired a 9mm Glock handgun in the office. Officers found a man matching the suspect’s description less than half a mile away about 10 minutes later, carrying a loaded 9mm magazine in his pants pocket, according to the arrest report.

He also had a drawstring bag with a handgun, handgun case and additional magazines, the report said. Surveillance video from the building showed the suspect wearing clothes matching Brown’s and carrying a matching bag, the report said.

People who know Brown were shocked by his arrest recognizing him as a hopeful change maker in the community.

Per Brown’s Twitter page, he was looking to represent District 5 for Louisville’s Metro Council. Brown’s attorney Rob Eggert told The Courier Journal Brown was a senior at the University of Louisville, an MLK scholar and had founded a group called From Fields to Arena dedicated to political education and violence prevention. One of Brown’s professors, Ricky Jones said Brown was one of his “most brilliant kids” he ever encountered, via The Courier Journal.

Others via social media have tried connecting Brown’s activism for the Black community to the shooting, suggesting his fight for racial justice drove him to violence, per the Courier-Journal. A friend of Brown’s who met him during the summer 2020 protests fought against those claims.

From The Courier Journal:

Brown frequently wrote about racial justice issues, including as an intern for The Courier Journal in 2019 and 2020. He occasionally wrote opinion columns for the editorial page after that and last wrote for the newspaper in May 2021.

In 2020, Brown was present at several large protests over the police killing of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was shot during a botched drug raid.

“I think the idea that his attachment or his connection to (Black Lives Matter) is what motivated this is irresponsible,” said Khalilah Collins, who met Brown at the protests. “I feel like we’re trying to create this narrative of what happened, and we have no idea about nothing.”

However, Brown had reportedly disappeared for two weeks in 2021, leading friends and family to grow concerned about his mental health. Eggert said when he met with Brown he seemed to be having a mental breakdown and needs treatment and not prison.

Brown is to be arraigned April 4, per AP News.