Crime
41-year-old Brandon Parker accused of shooting ex-girlfriend at Walmart in Spartanburg
Authorities in Spartanburg have confirmed that a man was arrested following a violent shooting Tuesday night in the parking lot of a Walmart on Dorman Centre Drive.
The incident occurred on September 9, 2025, at approximately 7:30 p.m.
According to the Spartanburg Police Department, 41-year-old Brandon Parker allegedly opened fire on his ex-girlfriend as she drove through the parking lot.
Police reports state that after the victim was struck by an initial gunshot, she attempted to drive toward the front of the Walmart where a security officerโs vehicle was parked.
As she exited her vehicle to seek help, Parker allegedly fired additional rounds, hitting her again before fleeing the scene at a high rate of speed.
The woman sustained gunshot wounds to her back and leg and was transported to a nearby hospital. Her condition has not yet been publicly disclosed.
Authorities launched a multistate search for Parker, who was located and taken into custody hours later in Kentucky, more than 300 miles from Spartanburg.
Spartanburg police, with assistance from Kentucky State Police, are coordinating his extradition and the return of collected evidence to South Carolina.
Police confirmed Parker will face several charges, including:
- Attempted murder
- Possession of a weapon during a violent crime
- Domestic violence
- Breach of peace
- Discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle
Witnesses described panic and confusion during the incident. One Walmart customer recalled hearing โfive loud gunshotsโ and said shoppers inside the store were โshocked and surprised, wondering what happened out there in the parking lot.โ
Following the shooting, officers secured the front of the store with crime scene tape as investigators processed evidence.
No other injuries were reported aside from the victim.
The motive for the attack remains under investigation.
The Spartanburg Police Department urges anyone with additional information to contact investigators at 864-596-2065 or submit anonymous tips through Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.
Crime
Mustapha Kharbouch Now-Deleted 2024 Manifesto Published in Institute for Palestine Studies Recovered
Brown University has removed multiple online references to student activist Mustapha Kharbouch in the days following a deadly campus shooting, a move that has drawn public attention amid heightened online speculationโdespite law enforcement officials confirming that no suspects or persons of interest have been identified in the investigation.
Archived versions of Brown University webpages show that Kharbouch, a first-year student at the time, was previously listed in several university-affiliated roles, including as a student assistant and Cultural Programming Coordinator connected to the Global Brown Center.
His academic interests were described as focusing on International and Public Affairs and Anthropology, with involvement in Middle Eastโfocused academic, cultural, and student programming.
Those pages are no longer accessible, and Kharbouchโs social media accounts have also been deactivated.
A verified buyer from the United States with the name “Mustapha K.” reviewed a 9MM muzzle brake through the Wing Tactical website on December 29th, 2024 โ the same caliber used in the Brown shooting.
There are approximately a few hundred people in the entire United States with that first name + last initial combination.
University officials have not issued a public explanation for the removal of the online profiles.
The changes occurred as online speculation intensified in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, with social media users circulating screenshots of archived university pages and past writings associated with Kharbouch.
Among the materials resurfaced by online users was a 2024 essay authored by Kharbouch and published by the Institute for Palestine Studies as part of a special student essay series titled Genocide in Gaza: Student Essays โ Brown University Encampment 2024.
The essay, titled โI Hear the Voice of My Ancestors Calling: From the Camps to the Campus,โ was published on August 13, 2024, months before the shooting. The piece is a first-person reflective essay examining Palestinian identity, intergenerational memory, student activism, and questions of hope amid displacement, war, and protest.
The article includes poetic excerpts adapted from โAncestors Song,โ a chant popularized during student-led Palestine solidarity actions at Brown University, and documents Kharbouchโs participation in campus organizing efforts, including sit-ins, hunger strikes, rallies, and the Brown Gaza Solidarity Encampment.
The essay situates these experiences within a broader discussion of decolonial thought, feminist theory, and Palestinian history, including reflections on the 1948 Nakba and the authorโs family history as a third-generation stateless Palestinian refugee raised in Lebanon.
The content of the essay is ideological, autobiographical, and academic in nature.
There is no reference to violence on campus, nor any indication of intent or planning related to criminal activity.
The Institute for Palestine Studies has not issued any statement suggesting the piece is under review or connected to the shooting.
Despite widespread online conjecture, law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and Providence Police, have not named Mustapha Kharbouch as a suspect or person of interest, and have publicly stated that there is no evidence linking him to the shooting.
Investigators have emphasized that the case remains active and that conclusions are being guided strictly by verified evidence.
Authorities have cautioned against drawing inferences from online speculation, warning that unsubstantiated claims can compromise investigations and cause undue harm to individuals not implicated by facts.
Media analysts and campus observers have suggested that Brown Universityโs decision to remove online references may have been taken as a protective or precautionary measure, particularly as misinformation and harassment proliferated across social media platforms following the attack.
Similar actions have been taken by institutions in other high-profile incidents to limit doxxing, targeted harassment, or the misinterpretation of publicly available biographical information during periods of heightened tension.
Brown University has not confirmed whether the removals were temporary, administrative, or safety-related in nature.
Authorities continue to urge the public to rely on confirmed information released by law enforcement and to avoid amplifying unverified narratives.
As of the most recent update, no arrests have been announced, no individuals have been publicly identified as suspects, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with credible information related to the shooting has been asked to contact investigators directly.