Quintez Brown is a Louisville man accused of shooting at mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg. Brown is a writer, activist and University of Louisville student who is also running for office. Brown was arrested at the scene of the shooting at Greenberg’s campaign office in the Kentucky city, police said. No one was injured in what has been called an assassination attempt on Greenberg, a Democratic candidate for Louisville mayoral seat.
Brown, 21, was charged with attempted murder and four counts of wanton endangerment, the Louisville Metro Police Department said. Brown was booked into the Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections about 8:30 p.m., records show. WDRB reporter Travis Ragsdale tweeted, “According to court records, Brown was stopped by police a half mile away from Greenberg’s office. He had a loaded 9mm magazine in his pocket and he was carrying a bag containing a Glock and additional magazines.”
Greenberg’s clothes were hit by one of the bullets, but he wasn’t shot, police said. “My team and I are fortunately all safe. We are all with LMPD now. I will provide an update as soon as possible. Thank you for the outpouring of support,” Greenberg tweeted after he was shot at. Greenberg said one of his staffers who was sitting closest to the office door was able to shut it as the gunman fired. Greenberg and his staff were then able to barricade themselves in the room and the shooter fled, Greenberg said.
“The gunman stood in the doorway as he fired the shots and one of my teammates was standing to the side of the door and was able to get the door slammed and then he and other teammates that were closer to the door just threw tables and desks to barricade us in,” Greenberg said at a press conference. “I’m very fortunate to have a great team of brave people who responded in that way. We are all very blessed. … It all happened so quick, but it’s a very surreal experience.”
Louisville Metropolitan Department of CorrectionsQuintez Brown in his mugshot.
Louisville Metro Police said multiple shots were fired during the incident on Monday, February 14, 2022. Police Chief Erika Shields said Greenberg was the gunman’s target. The shooting happened at Greenberg’s campaign headquarters on the fourth floor of the Butchertown Market building at 1201 Story Avenue about 10:15 a.m., Louisville police said. The suspect, identified as Brown, was taken into custody after fleeing from the scene, Shields said.
Shields said, The responding officers have detained an individual who we believe is responsible for the shooting. We have no known motive. We will need to allow the investigators to do the appropriate work. We also have no reason to believe at this time that this individual was asking anything but alone.” Shields said they would provide more information as it is available.
Greenberg is among several candidates running for the Democratic nomination in the Louisville mayoral primary in May. The winner of that race would be heavily favored to be the city’s next mayor, replacing outgoing Mayor Greg Fischer. Greenberg is the owner of 21c Museum Hotels, is a former University of Louisville trustee and owns Ohio Valley Wrestling with Kentucky radio host Matt Jones. Greenberg, tearing up at a press conference, said he just wants to get home to be with his wife and sons, “to get home to my family.”
Here’s what you need to know about Quintez Brown and the shooting:
1. Craig Greenberg Said the Shooter ‘Pulled Out a Gun, Aimed Directly at Me & Began Shooting,’ Adding a Bullet Came ‘So Close That It Grazed My Sweater’
Louisville Metro Council President David James, a Democrat, said in a statement, “Mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg was shot at this morning in an attempted assassination.” Greenberg said, “I am blessed. My team is blessed. No one was physically injured today.” Greenberg said he and four campaign staff members were gathered for a “brief meeting” when the incident occurred.
“A man walked into our office. When we greeted him, he pulled out a gun, aimed directly at me and began shooting,” Greenberg said. “The individual sitting closest to the door managed to bravely get the door shut, we barricaded the door and the suspect fled. All of us are blessed and I am blessed to be standing her today with you. Despite one bullet coming so close that it grazed my sweater and shirt, no one was physically harmed. And we are extraordinarly grateful for our safety. We are shaken but safe.”
He added, “I’d like to especially thank the swift response of the Louisville Metro Police Department, the ATF and all of the law enforcement officers who secured the scene within minutes and are working this case. I’m so proud and grateful for these brave men and women who work hard everyday to keep all of us in Louisville safe.” He declined to commment further on the situation or speculation about the shooter’s motivations in order for the police investigation to be completed.
“Today is not a day for politics. But it’s not lost on me that the violence my staff and I experienced today is far too common in our city,” Greenberg said. “Too many Louisville families have experienced the trauma of gun violence. Too many in Louisville were not as blessed as my team and I were today to survive. Clearly, much more work has to be done to end this senseless gun violence and make Louisville a safer place for everyone. Together I know we will get there.”
Shields said the LMPD began receiving calls about an “active aggressor” in the Butchertown neighborhood about 10:15 a.m. “Responding officers immediately began clearing the building and the good news is we have no injuries to any individuals. It does appear however that one individual in particular was targeted and that is one of our mayoral candidates, Craig Greenberg,” Shields said. “Mr. Greenberg and his staff were successfully ushered away from the building and he was not struck. Although it does appear that a round did strike a piece of his clothing.”
According to Shields, responding officers apprehended the suspect in a “relatively short amount of time.” She said the suspect was found outside of the building after the officers spotted him, saying he matched the description of the suspect. Shields said she wasn’t sure if there was security in the building. She also wouldn’t say if the campaign knew the suspect or had previous interactions with him.
Shields said, “We consider ourselves to be very fortunate today.” When asked by a reporter if there would be any “stepped up security” for other mayoral candidates, Shields said, “Right now we are looking at this from all angles. So until we can determine what the motivating factors were, we’re going to keep an open mind and proceed with an abundance of caution for many of our commmunity members. Mr. Greenberg is Jewish, so there’s that. We don’t know if it’s tied to the political candidacy or if we’re dealing with someone who has mental issues or is venomous. So we have to really keep an open mind and really just be diligent in taking care of our community.”
Shields said she would be looking into whether there had been any prior threats made toward Greenberg or his campaign. She said the FBI and ATF were at the scene assisting in the investigation. “Our federal partners are fantastic,” she said. “The ATF is embedded with us everyday. I immediately notified our FBI partners to ensure that they were involved in the investigation process.”
2. Brown Went Missing for Several Days in June & His Family Pointed to Possible Mental Health Issues Before He Was Found Safe in New York After 11 Days
Brown was the subject of a missing person investigation in June 2021. He was found safe in New York on July 1 after disappearing on June 19, WHAS reported.
Before he was found his stepmother, Stephanie Daugherty, told WAVE, “We just need people that can show a little empathy, and help him come back home. Help us get him home. He may be having a breakdown, we don’t know. But any type of information, or if you seen him or heard from him would help us so much.”
Brown’s parents, Cecilia Brown and Jacobe Daugherty, said in a statement issued by Black Lives Matter Louisville after he was found, “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 health. Through this experience, it has been evident that the institutions in Louisville are ill-equipped to support families and people in these situations. We encourage everyone to check in on those near to their hearts.”
3. Brown Announced in December He Would Be Running for the Louisville Metro Council District 5 Seat
Brown announced on social media in December 2021 that he would be running for the Louisville Metro Council in hopes of representing the city’s District 5.
His Twitter profile, @tez4liberation, says, “We have one scientific and correct solution, Pan-Africanism: the total liberation and unification of Africa under scientific socialism ❤️🖤💚.” Brown posted a video on social media showing him pinning a campaign sign to a tree. The video ends with, “2022. Soon we will all be free.”
During protests over the shooting death of Breonna Taylor by the Louisville Metro Police, Brown emerged as an outspoken Black Lives Matter activist. Brown told Louisville Magazine in 2020, “During the pandemic, a lot of people have really started exposing the infrastructure of America, really started questioning our healthcare system. A lot of people feel more vulnerable right now. You also gotta think: We have Trump in office as well, so a lot of people are really doubting the legitimacy of this American project. It feels like a perfect moment to do something, a perfect moment to be outraged.”
Brown also spoke out about issues with police in Louisville city schools, telling WDRB in 2019, “Students of color are being funneled into the criminal justice system at a higher rate, and if you look at mass incarceration in the country, police brutality, police shootings, the victims are disproportionately people of color. There’s a sense of feeling unsafe when there comes an officer in uniform just because of what we see in the media and what we experience in our everyday lives.”
4. Brown Is a Senior at the University of Louisville & He Has Been an Op-Ed Columnist for the Louisville Courier-Journal Newspaper
Brown is a student at the University of Louisville and is set to graduate in 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile. He graduated from Louisville’s DuPont Manual High School. According to WPFL, he is a, “U of L Woodford R. Porter scholar ━ a designation for Black students who achieve academic excellence and show a commitment to strengthening and serving their communities.”
Brown has also been an intern and opinion columnist at the Courier-Journal newspaper. His author page on the newspaper’s website shows he hasn’t written for the publication since May 2021.
The Courier-Journal website adds that Brown, “writes about race, youth opinion and social justice. He currently attends the University of Louisville studying political science. At U of L, he previously served as the opinion editor for The Louisville Cardinal. His columns appear biweekly.”
5. Brown Founded From Fields to Arenas Aiming to ‘Provide Political Education & Violence Prevention Training to Youth Engaged in Hip Hop & Athletics’
Brown founded From Fields to Arenas in May 2021. He wrote on LinkedIn, “FFTA (From Fields to Arenas) is committed to providing political education and violence prevention training to youth engaged in Hip Hop and athletics.”
On January 10, 2022, Brown wrote a Medium post titled, “A Revolutionary Love Letter.” He wrote, “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. We have forgotten how harmonious this thing called life is and have fallen victim to a vicious circle of pain and suffering.” Brown added:
Our situation is one of political warfare and for many of our friends, politics on this land has meant nothing but confronting the violent tools of racist bullies and sick killers who view the world as a system of mutual exploitation and maximal selfishness. Out of this negative conception, we, the people, yearn to create new rules for our grown-up game.
While we can redefine politics as the desire of individuals and groups to satisfy their basic needs first: food, shelter and clothing, and security for themselves and their loved ones — some of our so-called Black leaders endorse a tactic of confrontation reducible to simply voting for Democrats and holding political offices. As Huey Newton puts it, ‘The Black leaders have led the community to believe that brutality and force could be ended by subjecting the people to this very force of self-sacrificing demonstrations.’
By expecting someone else to take full responsibility for our liberation, these reactionary so-called Black leaders are committing an act of political suicide. The revolutionary consciousness of the masses must understand that the struggle against the negative forces of genocide and fascism will not end at the ballot box of the ruling class. Attempting to get within one of the two major parties has caused our leaders to become co-opted with their interests shunted to the background. They have become expendable.
Brown said, “As dialectical materialists, we do not believe that life will somehow change in the future, but rather we objectively understand that life is always in a constant state of change, transformation, and flux. Accepting this premise, we move in the present moment to rid ourselves of outdated programs and modalities that lead to our self-destruction and begin to help the masses define their needs, realize their strength, and go into action along a variety of lines which they must choose for themselves.”
He concluded, “My call to action is simple. Voting and petitioning will not be sufficient for our liberation, but in the current moment it will be strategically used to reach the masses. I do not want to speak of a long road ahead of us because no such road exists. We are already here and it begins with you. Secure your number amongst the billion and commit yourself to win a new world side by side with a united left front. ‘From all according to ability.’ Radicalize your natural environment, organize the people around you, and watch our numbers grow.”