A 21-year-old civil rights activist and political hopeful has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly trying to shoot a mayoral candidate in Kentucky.
Quintez Brown, a University of Louisville student and former columnist for the Courier Journal, was accused of walking into the Louisville office of Craig Greenberg on Monday and opening fire, the Journal reported.
Brown allegedly fired several bullets from a 9mm Glock handgun toward Greenberg at his campaign office on Story Avenue, WDRB reported, citing an arrest citation.
The suspect, a Black Lives Matter supporter who recently announced he would run for the Metro Council in District 5, was arrested shortly after the shooting carrying a loaded magazine in his pocket, according to the Courier Journal.
He also was carrying a bag containing a handgun, gun case and additional magazines, the police report said.
Louisville Metro Police Chief Erika Shields said the motive remains under investigation and that Brown apparently acted alone, WDRB reported.
Brown, who was involved in the racial justice protests of 2020, reportedly went missing for 11 days last summer before being found safe on July 1.
“We have one scientific and correct solution, Pan-Africanism: the total liberation and unification of Africa under scientific socialism,” he wrote on his Twitter profile.
On Jan. 10, he wrote a “Revolutionary Love Letter,” saying, “I am writing this to remind you how great you are. During our short stay on this glorious planet we all have been collectively dehumanized and reduced to political talking points — Black, white, liberal, conservative, Christian, criminal, boss, worker, activist, etc.
“We have been educated to use our minds narrowly and forced to identify ourselves with roles that trap us in a collective perpetual state of anxiety,” Brown continued.
“We have forgotten how harmonious this thing called life is and have fallen victim to a vicious circle of pain and suffering. Many of our friends are suffering from a deep feeling of alienation,” he added.
Brown, who has been active with Black Lives Matter Louisville, demonstrated in downtown Louisville in June 2020 to express his frustrations with how blacks have been policed in the US, WDRB reported.
In a statement after he was found last summer, his family said: “We are asking for privacy and would appreciate everyone’s patience and support while we tend to the most immediate need, which is Quintez’s physical, mental and spiritual needs.”
On Tuesday morning, Brown appeared in court on charges of attempted murder and four counts of wanton endangerment, WLKY reported. Four other people were in the office at the time of the shooting.
His cash bond was raised from $75,000 to $100,000, according to the outlet.
Brown’s attorney, Rob Eggert, asked to keep his bond low, describing the suspect as “well known in the community” — with no record other than a speeding ticket.
He said he believes there are some “serious mental issues at play here,” and that he will have the full-scholarship senior at the University of Louisville evaluated.
