A & T University campus / Google Map
Black students at North Carolina’s A&T State University, near the campus of Greensboro, can rest easy knowing that a potential white shooter has been apprehended at the HBCU.
A tip from campus officials led police to make a disturbing arrest on Sunday, March 26, at the intersection of Sullivan Street and North Benbow Road, within walking distance of A&T State University. Brandon James Bentley allegedly chased unarmed campus security officers while threatening violence. The bizarre disturbance escalated to the point where the Greensboro Police Department had to get involved.
Police discovered Bentley was carrying an arsenal of weapons, including a revolver, a loaded handgun, a rifle, two shotguns, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. He also had a “makeshift firecracker,” brass knuckles, a machete, a sword, a “blowdart gun,” a crossbow, a hatchet, a stun gun, a dozen knives, “claws,” and a baton.
Outwardly, one could suggest that the shooter may have wanted to commit a hate crime, given the location and circumstances of the shooting on an HBCU campus on a less crowded Sunday.
“The FBI, State Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Greensboro Police Department are in charge of an ongoing joint investigation into this incident,” a statement from the university that confirmed the incident. “[Brandon James Bentley, the suspected shooter], has no affiliation with A&T, has been banned from the North Carolina A&T campus. The University remains committed to the safety and security of our campus and will continue to use the emergency alert system in instances where threats are ongoing.”
The 27-year-old suspect is charged with possession of a firearm on school property, explosive device on school property, weapon on school property, carrying a concealed weapon, driving with a revoked license, and reckless driving.
Bentley previously appeared in court on March 27, where his bail was raised to $100,000.
Greensboro, N.C., is the third largest city in the state, with a population of approximately 300,000. The town, where Black people represent more than 40% of the city’s residents, is also home to two universities, the predominantly white University of North Carolina at Greensboro and A&T State University. The town is associated with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
In 1960, four Black students from A&T State University staged a sit-in at the lunch counter of Woolworth’s department store in downtown Greensboro to protest segregation