Greenville Woman Arrested After Hitting 2 Protesters With Car

ELIZABETH CITY, NC — A Greenville woman is accused of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and could face hate crime charges after she struck two Black women with her car while they were protesting the fatal police shooting of Andrew Brown, Jr. Monday evening, according to Elizabeth City Police Department.

The May 24 incident occurred shortly before 7 p.m. at the intersection of Ehringhaus Street and Griffin Street in Elizabeth City. Police identified the driver as 41-year-old Lisa Michelle O'Quinn, of Greenville, North Carolina.

For more than a month, protesters have taken to the city's streets to peacefully protest the fatal officer shooting of the unarmed Black man. Brown, 42, was killed by a gunshot to the back of his head from Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office deputies as they attempted to serve an arrest and search warrant on drug charges.

The victims struck by O'Quinn, who is White, were identified as Michelle Fleming Morris, 42, and Valerie Lindsey, 42, both of Elizabeth City. They were transported to Sentara Albemarle Hospital for treatment and were later released, police said.

O'Quinn was charged with two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill by the use of a motor vehicle; one count of careless and reckless; and one count of unsafe movement, police said. Her secured bond was set at $40,000, and her first court appearance was scheduled for Thursday.

More charges may be forthcoming, according to authorities.

"The police department is currently investigating this matter and we will be presenting facts and findings in this case to include potential aggravating factors for criminal enhancements for potential sentencing purposes of a hate crime involving this event," ECPD said in a statement.

According to a police account, the two victims were "peacefully protesting and exercising their constitutional rights," at the time O'Quinn struck them with her vehicle.

Last week, Pasquotank County District Attorney Andrew Womble said the shooting that led to Brown's death was justified and that no officers would be criminally charged.

According to early eyewitness accounts, Brown was shot while trying to get away from officers — an allegation that has sparked weeks of protests in Elizabeth City as well as demands for transparency. Details of the moments that led to the shooting remain under shroud, however, after a North Carolina Superior Court judge denied a request to publically release officer body camera footage of the fatal shooting. Brown's family was shown a heavily redacted 20-second clip of the incident.

In announcing the decision to not charge officers in the case, Womble reiterated that he would not release the police body camera footage, either.

Attorneys for Brown's family called Womble's refusal to bring charges "an insult and a slap in the face," and called for federal intervention.

The FBI Charlotte field office has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the case.

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