A Louisiana real estate agent who died during a transaction for a dirt bike was a Black Lives Matter activist, friends say.
Joseph Vindel, 29, was shot and killed as he sat in his SUV around 10 a.m. Sunday. Police say Vindel left his New Orleans home in his black SUV to meet with Jalen Harvey, 20, at his apartment complex in Jefferson Parish.
Harvey shot Vindel multiple times, then shoved his body into the back seat of his SUV before driving the SUV with the dirt bike on a trailer to New Orleans’ Garden District.
Harvey abandoned the SUV with Vindel inside and rode the dirt bike back to his apartment complex.
Police traced the victim to the apartment complex, where they found the dirt bike on a patio outside Harvey’s apartment.
Harvey was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree murder.
Friends say Vindel was a Black Lives Matter supporter who posted a black square on his Instagram page to show solidarity with the Democratic fundraising organization.
Instagram users left racist messages in the comments section under Vindel’s black square post.
One IG user wrote: “What a sad situation. When will whitey learn?”
Another user wrote: “Did we all learn a valuable lesson here?”
And a third wrote: “You can never let your guard down around these people.”
