"Just about 9 p.m. [01:00 GMT Sunday], 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. A short time later, we got a report of another shooting victim at the Hall of Justice. That person was taken to University Hospital with non-life threatening injuries," the statement, posted on Facebook, read.
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
According to the Courier-Journal newspaper, the protests over the police shooting of Breonna Taylor have been going on in the city park for weeks.
The LMPD noted in the statement that Jefferson Square Park would remain closed for several hours.
On 13 March, Taylor, 26, was shot dead by police in her home as officers entered to execute a search warrant targeting her former boyfriend.
The death of Taylor, George Floyd in Minneapolis, and other African Americans served as a catalyst for protests against police brutality throughout the United States as well as the world. However, many protests turned into riots complete with violence against police and civilians as well as acts of vandalism, arson and looting.
The incidents have also amplified calls by activists across the United States for the defunding of police departments and redirecting funds to other areas to help communities, such as education and housing.
