Rose Wallace turned 67 on Saturday. Around 5 that morning, she opened her door to a mother whose son had just been killed.
The woman fell into her arms, Wallace said.
Hours earlier, a shooting on North McKinley Street in Casper had left one of Wallace’s great-nephews fatally wounded. The man who fired the gun was his brother, she told Cowboy State Daily.
Now the family is grieving one and trying to help the other cope.
“Those brothers loved each other,” Wallace said.
Police have released the shooter from custody while continuing to investigate the death of Quincy Jermain Brow, 24, of Casper. Police spokesperson Rebecka Ladd confirmed his identity Monday, citing an announcement from the Natrona County Coroner’s Office.
“The motive of the shooting, along with many other details, are still currently under investigation,” Ladd said.
Wallace, who has lived in Casper for more than 50 years and describes herself as one of the family’s matriarchs, said she believes the shooting was accidental. She did not witness it, and her understanding comes in part from a conversation with the surviving brother afterward.
'Take Care Of The Family'
Wallace said she was preparing to take her son to work when Quincy’s mother arrived at her door with the news.
Then came the calls to relatives and the effort to understand where everyone was and what had happened.
Wallace said her own mother had impressed on her the importance of caring for the family, a responsibility she has felt especially keenly as relatives have died over the years.
“Take care of the family, be there for the family,” she said.
That morning, she went looking for answers. Later, while stopped at a traffic light downtown, she said the surviving brother approached her car.
She thought he was still in police custody.
Wallace said he told her he had left the police station. She took him in her car to see his grandfather.
She didn't question him about the shooting, she said, when he started telling her what had happened.
Under Investigation
Wallace said the surviving brother told her he intended to fire a warning shot and had not meant to shoot Quincy.
The brothers had lived together and argued previously, Wallace said, but what happened that night “was between them two.”
The exact circumstances remain unresolved publicly.
Officers responded shortly after midnight Saturday to a shooting report in the 700 block of North McKinley Street, the Casper Police Department said in its initial release.
They found an adult man in the street with an apparent gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police initially reported the shooter was in custody and cooperating. In an update, the department wrote, “This person is believed to be the only person who fired a weapon in this isolated incident and is being fully cooperative with police."
Police said the two men knew each other and there was no ongoing threat to the public.
“We anticipate additional information being released as the investigation unfolds,” Ladd said Monday.
Grief For Both Brothers
For Wallace, the immediate concern extends beyond funeral arrangements.
She worries about the surviving brother, whom she described as struggling to process what happened while reading public comments about the shooting.
“Right now, I’m concerned about his mental health,” she said.
Wallace said she hopes he can find someone he can talk to as relatives cope with their own grief.
“He needs to talk to like a preacher, a pastor, an person outside the family,” she said.
Not long ago, Wallace was talking with Quincy about Thanksgiving dinner. Now she is grieving alongside the rest of the family, trying to support them while making sense of how what she describes as a misunderstanding could leave one nephew dead and the other living with his loss.
Her message to people commenting from outside the family is that the brothers’ relationship cannot be understood solely through one dying and the other firing a gun.
“They loved each other,” she re-emphasized.
‘Listen To Them’
Known to people in the community as “Mama Rose,” Wallace said the loss has reinforced her belief families need to pay attention when young people are struggling.
“If your kid is crying out for help, listen to them,” she said.
She urged parents and relatives to make time for children, know who they spend time with and stay involved in their lives.
“To avoid stuff like this, you have to have more family time. Quality time,” she said. “Go to the sports game. Go to church.”
For now, Wallace is focused on the people left behind.
“Be there for one another,” she said.
“He loved his daughter deeply, and he was becoming a boxer,” Quincy’s mother Timika Brow wrote in a GoFundMe tribute. The family is accepting donations through the fundraiser to help cover food, beverages and memorial shirts for a gathering in his memory.
Anyone with information about the shooting can contact the Casper Police Department at 307-235-8278.
Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers of Central Wyoming at 307-577-8477 or crimestopperscasper.org.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
