A shooting at a protest in Louisville, Kentucky’s Jefferson Square Park resulted in a death and injury Saturday night, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.
The park has been the epicenter of continued protests against police brutality and racism, sparked by a series of police killings, including George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville. Several protesters had set up tents and were spending the night in the park.
The shooting started around 9 p.m. local time, according to police. The video posted on social media shows a man firing more than a dozen shots at the crowd from the edge of the park.
Police cleared the park after the shooting early Sunday morning and said the protests may continue during the day, but no one will be allowed to stay overnight.
“I am deeply saddened by the violence that erupted in Jefferson Square Park tonight, where those who have been voicing their concerns gathered,” Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer wrote on Facebook. “It is a tragedy that this area of peaceful protest is now a crime scene.”
This is a developing story. This is what we know so far.
What we know
- Louisville metro police received reports of gunshots in Jefferson Square park around 9 p.m. ET on Saturday.
- The video posted on Facebook shows a man firing a pistol at the park. The clips show people screaming and falling to the ground; others began to run. A person can be seen on the ground when someone near them calls a doctor.
- The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department reportedly attempted to perform emergency first aid on a man who had been shot. He later died on the scene.
- A second victim, whose gender has not been identified, was shot and found in the Hall of Justice near the park. They were taken to a local hospital and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
- Around 10 p.m., the Louisville police arrived at the park with riot gear.
- Police cleared the park after the shooting to start an investigation, and a local public works team packed up the tents left by the protesters. Police announced early Sunday morning that camping will no longer be allowed in the park overnight.
- Louisville has been the center of the international protests that followed the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in late May. Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Louisville EMT, was shot dead by local police in her own home on March 13, about 10 weeks before Floyd’s death. None of the three officers involved in Taylor’s death has been arrested.
- A counter-protest was planned with “patriots of armed freedom fighters” in the park that same day. Some of the anti-racist and police brutality protesters brought their own firearms to the daytime demonstration in anticipation of a confrontation, but the counter-protesters did not arrive.
- Saturday night’s shooting was not the first in the midst of the month of mostly peaceful protests: Seven people were injured during a shooting at the nearby Louisville city hall on May 28.
What we don’t know
- The identity or age of the shooter.
- The reason for the shooter or the firearm used
- The identity or age of the victims.
- If there are suspects
- If there are suspects in police custody
