On a tragic Tuesday morning, October 25, 2016, Daniel Wesley Brown, a 56-year-old Caucasian male, was fatally shot at his place of employment, FreightCar America in Roanoke, Virginia. Brown, a resident of Montvale, VA, and originally from Lockport, New York, was a dedicated employee, remembered by his colleagues as a 'work Dad' who took pride in his work and in training new employees.
The perpetrator of the shooting was identified as Getachew Fekede, a 53-year-old former employee of
FreightCar America. Fekede had reportedly been fired from the company in March of that year after he stopped showing up for work. On the morning of the incident, Fekede entered the facility and opened fire. In addition to killing Brown, he injured three other people before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life.
An investigation into the shooting revealed that Fekede, who had come to the United States as a refugee from Kenya, had allegedly faced harassment from a coworker, which may have been a contributing factor to his actions. Because the shooter died by suicide at the scene of the crime, no arrests were made in connection with Daniel Wesley Brown's death. The investigation was closed after the circumstances of the murder-suicide were determined. The community was left to mourn the loss of Brown and the other victims of this workplace violence.
