Man killed, other injured in Louisville shooting

LOUISVILLE: A man was killed and another injured after a shooting at the Jefferson Square Park in Louisville, Kentucky late on Saturday.

As per media reports, the incident occurred after protesters have camped out to demonstrate against the police killing of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman, in her home in March.

A video circulating on social media showed a gunman opening fire on people in the park. Several shots were heard as people took cover within the park, with protesters – and later, the police – arriving to help a man who had been shot.

The further video showed the park being cordoned off with officers and investigators arriving at the crime scene.

The Louisville Metro Police Department said in a statement that they received reports of the shooting at around 9 p.m. local time (0100 GMT on Sunday, June 28). “Calls then came in that Sheriff’s department personnel were in the park performing life-saving measures on a male who eventually died at the scene,” the police added.

The statement further said the police had cleared the park and homicide detectives were conducting an investigation. No further details were provided.

Jefferson Square Park in Louisville, Kentucky, has been a center for protests against the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman was killed in a hail of gunfire when drug investigators burst into her home in Louisville about three months ago.

Taylor’s slaying returned to prominence following the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man killed after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes while detaining him in Minneapolis.

The two incidents and others have become a rallying cry in nationwide protests against police brutality in the country.