18-Year-Old Accused of Killing 2 in Kentucky Bank Robbery
Federal authorities in Kentucky accused an 18-year-old on Friday of killing two people during an attempted bank robbery, a crime becoming increasingly rare across the country.
The man, Brailen Weaver, was arrested early Friday in downtown Lexington, according to an affidavit provided by the U.S. attorney's office. The arrest came after he crashed a BMW sedan in a chase with police in which he reached speeds of 130 mph, according to the affidavit, which said he then fled on foot.
It was not immediately clear whether Weaver was being represented by a lawyer. He is scheduled to appear in federal court Monday.
The suspect wore a black mask and gloves as he entered a U.S. Bank branch in Berea, just before 2 p.m. Thursday, authorities said. He immediately shot and killed an employee, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
He then shot and killed a teller, and checked several drawers before leaving the bank, the affidavit states. Police on Thursday would not say whether he took any money.
The two dead employees were identified by police as Breanna Edwards, 35, of Madison County and Brian Switzer, 42, of Jessamine County.
"The only solace that we can offer is that this individual, who valued a stolen dollar more than two human lives, will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law," said Olivia Olson, a special agent in charge of the Louisville office of the FBI, at a Friday news conference.
Weaver had not been formally charged as of Friday afternoon, but the criminal complaint accuses him of armed bank robbery, the use of a firearm in a violent crime, and causing death with a firearm. The last offense could lead to life imprisonment or the death penalty.
The Kentucky attorney general, Russell Coleman, said he would pursue a state murder charge separately from federal charges.
For hours after the shooting, authorities were uncertain if the suspect had fled by car, bus or on foot. Police officers and federal agents conducted a door-to-door search throughout Berea, a college town about 35 miles south of Lexington on Thursday, while schools were locked down.
They shared photos from the bank online, asking for information about a man in a gray hooded sweatshirt.
Their break, according to court records, came when investigators traced a silver BMW with out-of-state license plates that had been spotted near the bank in surveillance footage to a Facebook post. Facebook, responding to an emergency disclosure request from the FBI, identified Weaver as the account owner, according to the affidavit.
Photos posted to the account showed Weaver wearing the same pants and shoes as the person in the bank surveillance footage, officials said. They were able to trace his location to Somerset, about 40 miles south of Berea, and chased him on Interstate 75.
A gun was found in the BMW after it crashed.
Bank robberies have become increasingly rare across the United States. There were 1,263 in 2023, the most recent year for which FBI data is available, down about 70% from 4,185 in 2016.
There were no deaths resulting from bank robberies in 2023, according to the FBI. There was one in 2022.
Jason Parman, a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Lexington, said he had never been involved in a case of a bank robber killing someone during his 18-year career. If a bank robber is armed, it's almost always just a threat, he said at the news conference Friday. "Many times, they'll pass a note that says, 'Give me the money or else.'"
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 11:43 AM.