‘Beloved’ Twitter Employee And Activist Posted Hopeful Tweet Minutes Before Being Gunned Down Near San Francisco Park

Last Friday, Courtney Brousseau logged onto Twitter and posted a photo of a burrito in a San Francisco park. Palm trees punctuated the skyline and skyscrapers glimmered in the distance. The sun was setting.

“I just ate a delicious burrito in Dolores park and for a brief moment everything felt okay,” the 22-year-old captioned the picturesque upload. 

The tweet went live at 8:17 p.m. Minutes later, however, gunfire erupted near the public park. Brousseau was shot and critically wounded, according to the San Francisco Police Department. He was rushed to the hospital where he died days later, on Monday. An unnamed 17-year-old also sustained a single gunshot but survived, according to authorities.

Investigators haven’t yet identified the shooter and no arrests have been made. 

“The circumstances leading up to the shooting and everyone's involvement are still under investigation,” Officer Adam Lobsinger told Oxygen.com. “The investigation is open and ongoing. Updates will be provided as they become available.”

Detectives are “actively” speaking with eyewitnesses and investigating leads, the San Francisco Police Department said in a statement. 

Officials didn’t release Brousseau’s name in connection to the shooting, however, friends and co-workers confirmed his death. The 22-year-old worked as an associate product manager at Twitter, according to his website.

Courtney Brousseau Photo: Twitter

“Today we lost a beloved Tweep, and we’re collectively heartbroken,” Leslie Berland, Twitter’s chief marketing officer, wrote. “I’ve spent a lot of time on Courtney’s timeline to get to know him better. What I discovered is he was the best of us.”

Brousseau, a tenacious public transit advocate, co-founded Gay For Transit, a queer San Francisco transit collective that was born on social media. 

“We at BART will forever miss you, Courtney,” the city’s transit service also tweeted. “Courtney asked us tough questions and demanded accountability while being our biggest supporter. We will never forget the joy you expressed when you finally boarded a Fleet of the Future train. Rest In Peace.”

Brousseau loved architecture, Lego, dogs, cycling, cooking, and is remembered for his generosity, kindness, and ability to bring people together, his friends said. 

“Courtney planted seeds in a garden he never got to see,” his friend, Karen Ni, 21, told Oxygen.com. “His hope for a better tomorrow was contagious. Courtney unapologetically showed up and offered the world joy, love, and his commitment for justice. He had a way of making you feel seen and heard.”

Photo: Sarah Abdeshahian

The 22-year-old also donated money regularly to a number of charitable causes. 

“[He] donated $50/month to 10 different organizations,” Janice Li, who co-founded Gay For Transit with Brousseau said in a statement. “This is obviously incredibly shocking and tragic news for someone who was so eager to build community and for someone who has brought so much joy to our lives.”

He double-majored in economics and computer science at University of California, Berkeley. A seasoned coder and computer science tutor, Brousseau aspired to work in the field of civic technology. He interned for Microsoft and former presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, according to his website. Brousseau also served as co-editor of his high school student newspaper in Thousand Oaks, the San Francisco Chronicle Herald reported. 

His final tweet of a foil-wrapped burrito has since gone viral.

“It’s classic Courtney,” Ni said. “He wrote a random, simple tweet sharing his love for San Francisco. I remember smiling at his tweet when I first read it because I knew he had a rough week prior to this, yet he still found some joy that day and I was happy to know he felt okay.”

Anyone with information related to Brousseau’s shooting is urged to contact the San Francisco Police Department 24-hour tip line at 415-575-4444.