A shocking video has been released showing shots fired at a protest in Louisville, Kentucky, demanding justice for Breonna Taylor on Saturday, who left one dead and one injured, when police revealed the alleged gunman was a fellow protestor.
Tyler Charles Gerth, 27, of Louisville, died of a gunshot wound Saturday night, the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office said. At a press conference Sunday, authorities said they would not identify the suspect in the shooting at this time pending further investigation, but said he was injured in the incident and remained in custody at the hospital.
“The man had been participating in the protest since they started and had been arrested a few times in the past few weeks. Other members of the park repeatedly asked him to leave because of his disruptive behavior, ”said Louisville Deputy Chief of Police Robert Schroeder. “In addition to this man, several people in the park were armed at the time of the incident, and our homicide investigators are still working to identify all the parties who may have shot during the incident.”
DEMOCRATIC MAYOR OF MISSOURI ACCUSED OF BULLYING DEFENSE POLICE PROTESTERS AFTER READING NAMES, PARTIAL ADDRESSES IN LIVESTREAM
The cell phone video captured the moments when a man wearing black shorts and wearing a black backpack raised a gun and started opening fire around 9 p.m. Almost two dozen shots rang out in less than a minute. People were seen stooping for cover. The man who recorded screamed, “Oh my gosh!” meeting someone in a pool of blood in the park.
Schroeder also showed a surveillance video representing the moment the gunman started shooting, inciting panic among those camping in the park. Louisville metro police responded to the shooting in the park in four minutes.
According to police, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office staff also responded to the park and took steps to save the life of the man who ultimately died at the scene.
Police also responded to calls about a second victim who was shot in the Hall of Justice, across the street from the park. That person was rushed to the hospital and expected to survive.
A team from Metro Public Works began packing tents, according to the police department. Personal belongings would be insured and will be available to pick up on Sunday later. Louisville chief of public services Amy Hess said the city would enforce its ban on any camping paraphernalia and temporary shelters within the park after Saturday’s shooting.
“It is a security issue at the moment. In the last few nights we have seen increasingly dangerous behavior. We have seen several fist fights. We have also seen an increasing number of weapons that we were concerned about, but all of that led to last night’s activity and last night’s shooting, ”said Hess. “However, we wanted to balance the First Amendment’s exercise in freedom of expression, the need to unite, while understanding that ordinances existed for a reason, and it was particularly to help protect public safety.”
Mayor Greg Fischer asked the public not to allow the shooting to distract the message from the “peaceful protesters.”
“I ask everyone to put aside differences and work together for the change we want to see,” said Fischer. “We cannot allow this senseless act of violence to slow down or stop what peaceful protesters demand in our city and our country and demand that we dismantle once and for all racist systems and institutions that have long denied equal rights. , access and opportunities for too many people simply because of the color of their skin. “
Before the shooting unfolded, the mayor, a Democrat, said last Thursday that he was “aware of rumors suggesting that the armed militia will come to downtown Louisville this weekend.”
“Our message is simple: We don’t need you here. Our focus is to facilitate peaceful protests, ”he tweeted.
Sunday’s press conference clarified that the gunman was a protester. Speculation on social media suggested that an armed patriot group may have been responsible for the shooting. Schroeder also shut down other rumors that Metro police had paid the gunman to open fire on protesters.
Members of a group called the “American Freedom Fighters” planned a counter-protest in Louisville on Saturday against the campers to compel officials to prosecute the officers involved in the death of Breonna Taylor, The Courier-Journal reported. Despite bringing weapons into the city, most of the group members dispersed before the shooting began.
This was not the first shooting in Louisville at a protest dedicated to Taylor. Seven people were injured on May 28 when the shooting erupted near the City Hall. In response, Taylor’s mother issued a statement imploring protesters to fight for justice “without hurting themselves.”
Taylor was shot and plainclothes officers issued an “untouched” search warrant in his apartment in March as part of a narcotics investigation. No drugs were found at the scene.
Her boyfriend said he thought someone was breaking into the apartment in the middle of the night and shot the officers. Taylor was hit by fire from officers’ return.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Since then, the city has prohibited orders not to touch. No charges have been filed against the agents involved in his death. An officer, Brett Hankison, was fired from the force last week.
