A man was shot dead Saturday night during a demonstration against racism under the banner of “Black Lives Matter” in Louisville, the United States, where the death in March of a black woman, killed by the police in his apartment, had caused intense emotion.
The death of Breonna Taylor had been followed by numerous demonstrations against police violence, which then took on an unprecedented scale with the death of George Floyd, an African American who was asphyxiated by a white police officer on May 25.
Local Louisville police, alerted by a call, said they had found a man seriously injured by gunfire in Jefferson Square Park, where the protest was being held. “The police tried to save him, but without success,” said the police on Twitter.
Just about 9 p.m., there were reports of shots fired in Jefferson Square Park. 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.
— LMPD (@LMPD) June 28, 2020
Shortly afterwards, another person was shot in front of the park. Police said they did not know if there was a single shooter or two, and gave no details on the victims.
I’m downtown at the corner of 5th and Jefferson where there were reports of shots fired about 30 minutes ago with “multiple victims” but no immediate information. Lots of LMPD on scene. This is the epicenter of Louisville’s daily Black Lives Matter protesta. @courierjournal pic.twitter.com/tK2KGehWgK
— Savannah Eadens (@SavannahEadens) June 28, 2020
Earlier in the evening, city mayor Greg Fischer asked the protesters to stay away from the park. The Louisville Courier Journal had indeed revealed that “armed patriotic groups” intended to confront the demonstrators.
Animated events
The Black Lives Matter events have been particularly lively in Louisville since the death of Breonna Taylor. The 26-year-old nurse was at home with her partner when three police officers knocked on her door without warning.
The officers, equipped with a search warrant, were acting on an erroneous search notification concerning a suspect who no longer lived in the building and who was already detained. They hit the young woman with at least eight bullets. (ATS / nxp)
Created: 28.06.2020, 09h55
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