Berea bank shooting suspect could face federal, state charges
By Curtis Tate, Mike Savage
May 1, 2026 at 7:42 AM EDT
An 18-year-old man is in custody following the fatal shooting of two bank employees in Berea on Thursday.
Brailen Weaver is scheduled to make his first appearance in federal court in Lexington on Monday.
In a Friday briefing, Jason Parman, first assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, said Weaver would be formally charged then.
“So under federal law, what we are charging is the bank robbery, the use of the firearm tied to the bank robbery and the death that resulted from the use of that firearm during a crime of violence,” Parman said.
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said Friday he planned to bring murder charges in the deaths of the two U.S. Bank workers.
“We are supporting the fine men and women of Kentucky law enforcement who worked through the night to apprehend this criminal,” Coleman said. "For the families of the two Kentuckians killed, we will do everything possible to deliver justice."
According to an affidavit filed on Friday, Weaver led police on a high-speed chase on Interstate 75 late Thursday. He was taken into custody early Friday in Lexington.
The affidavit says police identified Weaver through social media posts and surveillance footage.
On Thursday afternoon, Weaver allegedly walked into the U.S. Bank branch on Chestnut Street in Berea and shot and killed two people.
Breanna Edwards, 35, of Madison County, and Brian Switzer, 42, of Jessamine County, were identified as the bank employees who were killed.
According to the court document, a person convicted of armed bank robbery resulting in the death of a person through use of a firearm could be sentenced to death or life in prison.
Original post:
The Kentucky State Patrol says a person of interest has been apprehended following a Berea bank shooting that killed two people.
(498x222, AR: 2.2432432432432434)
KSP Trooper Justin Kearney said 35-year-old Breanna Edwards, of Madison County, and 42-year-old Brian Switzer, of Jessamine County, were employees of U.S. Bank and were fatally shot in the robbery.
The robbery attempt took place on Thursday afternoon at the U. S. Bank in Berea on Chestnut Road. Berea College and some Madison County schools nearby went into lockdown as authorities were searching for the suspect.
An image of the suspect entering the U.S. Bank in Berea (2048x1536, AR: 1.3333333333333333)
A brief chase ensued after the suspect fled the scene in a car on Interstate 75 towards Lexington
The unidentified person of interest was apprehended by authorities in Lexington this morning.
Brailen Weaver is scheduled to make his first appearance in federal court in Lexington on Monday.
In a Friday briefing, Jason Parman, first assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, said Weaver would be formally charged then.
“So under federal law, what we are charging is the bank robbery, the use of the firearm tied to the bank robbery and the death that resulted from the use of that firearm during a crime of violence,” Parman said.
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said Friday he planned to bring murder charges in the deaths of the two U.S. Bank workers.
“We are supporting the fine men and women of Kentucky law enforcement who worked through the night to apprehend this criminal,” Coleman said. "For the families of the two Kentuckians killed, we will do everything possible to deliver justice."
According to an affidavit filed on Friday, Weaver led police on a high-speed chase on Interstate 75 late Thursday. He was taken into custody early Friday in Lexington.
The affidavit says police identified Weaver through social media posts and surveillance footage.
On Thursday afternoon, Weaver allegedly walked into the U.S. Bank branch on Chestnut Street in Berea and shot and killed two people.
Breanna Edwards, 35, of Madison County, and Brian Switzer, 42, of Jessamine County, were identified as the bank employees who were killed.
According to the court document, a person convicted of armed bank robbery resulting in the death of a person through use of a firearm could be sentenced to death or life in prison.
Original post:
The Kentucky State Patrol says a person of interest has been apprehended following a Berea bank shooting that killed two people.
(498x222, AR: 2.2432432432432434)
KSP Trooper Justin Kearney said 35-year-old Breanna Edwards, of Madison County, and 42-year-old Brian Switzer, of Jessamine County, were employees of U.S. Bank and were fatally shot in the robbery.
The robbery attempt took place on Thursday afternoon at the U. S. Bank in Berea on Chestnut Road. Berea College and some Madison County schools nearby went into lockdown as authorities were searching for the suspect.
An image of the suspect entering the U.S. Bank in Berea (2048x1536, AR: 1.3333333333333333)
A brief chase ensued after the suspect fled the scene in a car on Interstate 75 towards Lexington
The unidentified person of interest was apprehended by authorities in Lexington this morning.