Rest in peace, Courtney Brousseau.
The 22-year-old Twitter employee and co-founder of the advocacy group Gay for Transit San Francisco, was gunned down near San Francisco’s Dolores Park last week, according to the Daily Californian.
The UC Berkeley alumnus was a young man of promise. He was well-known for his love and advocacy for public transportation advancement and affordability. Through Gay for Transit, Brousseau, who identified as bisexual, and co-founder Janice Li held monthly meetings. LGBTQ community members gathered together to discuss how to better public transport in the service of LGBTQ people and the community-at-large.
“[He] donated $50/month to 10 different organizations,” Li said after Brousseau’s death. “This is obviously incredibly shocking and tragic news for someone who was so eager to build community and for someone who has brought so much joy to our lives.”
“He touched so many lives,” said Brousseau’s former roommate Daniel Evans-Nakamura. “I got to witness him blossom.”
This is so terribly sad. Courtney was clearly a young man with tremendous promise, deeply involved in his community and beloved by many. My heart breaks for his friends and family, and for all the life that he should have had ahead of him. https://t.co/FshlCZqSpl
— Rafael Mandelman (@RafaelMandelman) May 5, 2020
“Courtney was clearly a young man with tremendous promise, deeply involved in his community and beloved by many,” said San Francisco district supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who worked with Brousseau along with other state officials, in a tweet on May 5. “My heart breaks for his friends and family, and for all the life that he should have had ahead of him.”
But unfortunately, we will never see the promising future Courtney Brousseau was hoping to help create. The 22-year-old Twitter employee was shot in San Francisco’s Mission District while picking up takeout, according to Business Insider. After picking up his food, he decided to share a tweet about a peaceful moment he’d experienced just seconds before.
“I just ate a delicious burrito in Dolores park and for a brief moment everything felt okay,” he wrote to Twitter.
I just ate a delicious burrito in Dolores park and for a brief moment everything felt okay pic.twitter.com/bTyWotvXDF
— Courtney Brousseau (@cbrewsayso) May 2, 2020
That turned out to be the last tweet the young man would ever make. Brousseau posted the adjoining pictures to Twitter at 8:17 p.m. on Friday, May 1. Just minutes after that, he was reportedly caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting. Brousseau was critically wounded by two men in their 20s. The men got out of a vehicle and fired 50 to 60 shots near Rose Parks Lane and Guerrero Street, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
A 17-year-old who was near the park was also shot. Thankfully, he suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Unfortunately for Broussau, however, the gunshot wounds were critical. Courtney Brousseau later died at the San Francisco General Hospital the following Monday night.
Police are currently investigating the shooting, but no arrests have been made. Meanwhile, friends, family, and colleagues who knew or worked with Brousseau are mourning his passing.
Again, may he rest in peace.
Sources: The Daily Californian, Business Insider, The San Francisco Chronicle
