At least seven people were shot as hundreds of protesters in downtown Louisville gathered to demand justice for Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old Louisville ER tech who was shot and killed by Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) in March.
What We Know:
- Some shots were heard on scene just before 11:30 p.m., and a police spokeswoman confirmed the injuries at 1 a.m. in a statement. Two victims required surgery.
- “There have been some arrests, but at this time we are not able to tell you how many as the situation is ongoing,” the statement from spokeswoman Alicia Smiley said. “Information on those arrests will be available tomorrow through court records of the arrests.”
- Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said Friday morning, five of the shooting victims from the protest are in “good condition” and the two victims who required surgery are now “stable and recovering”.
I urge protesters, as Breonna Taylor’s family said tonight, to say her name. But let’s not see anyone else get hurt. Let’s work together for peace, justice & for Breonna & all of Louisville. pic.twitter.com/RHyMgUV073
— Mayor Greg Fischer (@louisvillemayor) May 29, 2020
- “Chants of ‘no justice, no peace’ echoed through the streets as night fell and the hundreds who gathered traveled down Jefferson and Main street. What started as a peaceful protest in the evening, escalated as the night went on, with the crowd being teargassed and glass storefronts shattered.
- The only sign of a break as of late was the change in weather brought heavy rains into the area in the early morning hours, we aided in disbanding much of the crowd.
- The protests in Louisville unfurled as other cities saw similar demonstrations over police killings of black Americans, including in Los Angeles, Memphis, New York, and Minneapolis, where a man named George Floyd died after an officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck. Floyd has also been in the eye of everyone as of late.
- Jessie Halladay, a spokeswoman for LMPD, briefly addressed the media via video chat, saying, “this is not what we want for our city”.
Halladay went onto say, “What we are seeing tonight in this community is the obvious frustration and tension between police and residents.” She made it clear that what started as peaceful protests earlier in the evening is now escalating into property damage and more aggressive action.
