Louisville gunman opens fire on protesters

Published 1 hour ago
Last Update 57 mins ago

Louisville gunman opens fire on protesters; at least 1 dead, authorities say

Officers cleared the park completely and secured the area so homicide detectives could conduct their investigation.

By Andrew Keiper | Fox News

Authorities in Louisville, Ky., were investigating Saturday evening after a suspect opened fire on a crowd of peaceful protesters at Jefferson Square Park.
Authorities confirmed to Fox News that at least one person was killed in the shooting. LMPD Sgt. Lamont Washington issued the following statement:

"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. 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."

Officers cleared the park completely and secured the area so homicide detectives could conduct their investigation. Detectives are trying to gather as much information as possible in order to identify all who were involved in the incident.

Mayor Greg Fischer's office released the following statement:

"I am deeply saddened by the violence that erupted in Jefferson Square Park tonight, where those who have been voicing their concerns have been gathered. It is a tragedy that this area of peaceful protest is now a crime scene. My thanks to the first responders who assisted at the scene. I will have more to say tomorrow, as additional information becomes available."

Some videos posted on social media showed a man firing at least a half-dozen shots from a sidewalk toward a space filled with protesters and tents. In one video seen on Facebook, the camera operator ducks and begins running but many more shots can be heard.

People can be seen hiding behind concrete ledges and shouting for others to run for cover.

It was unclear if the barrage of gunfire was from the one suspect or also from open-carry protesters or police officers returning fire.

As the Facebook video plays, shouts for a medic can be heard and at least one person is seen immobilized on the ground in a pool of blood. People rush to the individual and at least two armed civilians stand guard while others try to administer first aid.

Jefferson Square Park has been the center of protests in Louisville for weeks. The city has been protesting the death of Breonna Taylor, who was killed by police when she was sleeping during a controversial raid on her apartment.

No officers involved in Taylor's death have been arrested, though one, Brett Hankison, has been fired.

Police officers were seen standing guard in Jefferson Square Park. WDRB reported that at least one victim was loaded into an ambulance.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/louisvill...uthorities-say

Published 2 hours ago
Last Update 14 mins ago

Gunfire at deadly Breonna Taylor protest in Louisville caught on video; police say gunman was protester

Graphic video shows people ducking for cover as gunfire rings out, a bloody body laying in the middle of Jefferson Square Park.

By Danielle Wallace | Fox News

Louisville gunman opens fire on protesters; at least 1 dead, authorities say

Authorities in Louisville, Kentucky were investigating after a suspect opened fire on a crowd of peaceful protesters at Jefferson Square Park.

A shocking video has emerged showing gunfire ringing out at a Louisville, Ky., protest demanding justice for Breonna Taylor Saturday that left one dead and another injured, as police revealed the suspected gunman was a fellow protester.

Tyler Charles Gerth, 27, of Louisville, died of a gunshot wound Saturday night, the Jefferson County coroner's office said. In a news conference Sunday, officials said they would not be identifying the shooting suspect at this time pending further investigation but did say he was wounded in the incident and remained in custody at the hospital.

“The man had been participating in the protest since they began and had been arrested a couple of times over the past several weeks. He had been repeatedly asked by other members in the park to leave due to his disruptive behavior,” Louisville Assistant Chief of Police Robert Schroeder said. “In addition to this man, multiple other people in the park were armed at the time of the incident, and our homicide investigators are still working to identify all of the parties who may have fired during the incident.”

MISSOURI DEMOCRATIC MAYOR ACCUSED OF INTIMIDATING DEFUND POLICE PROTESTERS AFTER READING NAMES, PARTIAL ADDRESSES ON LIVESTREAM

Cellphone video captured the moments a man wearing black shorts and carrying a black backpack raised a weapon and started opening fire around 9 p.m. Nearly two dozen shots rang out in less than a minute. People were seen ducking for cover. The man recording called out, “Oh my God!” when coming across someone in a pool of blood in the park.

Schroeder also showed a surveillance video depicting the moment the gunman first started firing, inciting panic among those camping out in the park. Louisville Metro Police responded to shots fired in the park within four minutes.

Personnel from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office responded to the park and performed life-saving measures on the man who eventually died at the scene, according to police.

Law enforcement also responded to calls about a second victim who had been shot at the Hall of Justice, across the street from the park. That person was rushed to the hospital and is expected to survive.

A team from Metro Public Works started packing up tents, according to the police department. Personal belongings would be secured and will be available for pickup later Sunday. Louisville Chief of Public Services Amy Hess said the city would enforce its ban on any camping paraphernalia and temporary shelters inside the park following Saturday’s shooting.

“It’s a safety issue at this point. Over the past several nights we’ve seen increasingly dangerous behavior.

We’ve seen several fistfights. We’ve also seen an increasing number of weapons that gave us concern, but all that led up to last night’s activity and last night’s shooting,” Hess said. “But yet, we wanted to balance the First Amendment exercise of free speech, the need to come together, while at the same time understanding that ordinances were in place 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 from the message of “peaceful protesters.”

“I ask everybody to put whatever differences aside and work together for the change that we want to see," Fischer said. "We can’t let this one act of senseless violence slow or halt what peaceful protesters are demanding in our city and our country and demand that we once and for all dismantle the racist systems and institutions that for far too long have denied equal rights, access and opportunity to too many people simply because of the color of their skin.”

Before the shooting unfolded, the mayor, a Democrat said last Thursday he was “aware of rumors suggesting that armed militia are coming to downtown Louisville this weekend.”

“Our message is simple: We don’t need you here. Our focus is on facilitating peaceful protests,” he tweeted.

The news conference Sunday clarified that the gunman was a protester. Speculation on social media suggested that an armed patriot group could have been responsible for the shooting. Schroeder also shut down other rumors that Metro Police had paid the gunman to open fire at protesters.

Members of a group named the “American Freedom Fighters” did plan a counter-protest in Louisville on Saturday against those camped out to force officials to prosecute the officers involved in the death of Breonna Taylor, The Courier-Journal reported. Despite bringing guns into the city, most members of the group 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 gunfire broke out near City Hall. In response, Taylor’s mother released a statement imploring protesters to fight for justice “without hurting each other.”

Taylor was shot and killed by plainclothes officers conducting a “no-knock” search warrant at her 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 fired at the officers. Taylor was struck by the officers’ returning fire.

The city has since banned no-knock warrants. No charges have been brought against the officers involved in her death. One officer, Brett Hankison, was fired from the force last week.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/louisvill...unman-kentucky

What we know about Steven Lopez, the suspect in the fatal Jefferson Square Park shooting

Lucas Aulbach Louisville Courier Journal

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2...pjpg&auto=webp

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A frequent participant in Louisville's month of protests has been accused of fatally shooting a photographer in Jefferson Square Park after a dispute with another person.

Steven Nelson Lopez, 23, is facing charges of murder and first-degree wanton endangerment, Louisville Metro Police officials said Sunday after releasing his arrest citation.

Lopez is accused of killing Tyler Gerth, a 27-year-old Louisville photographer who had become a vocal supporter of the protests.

At 8:59 p.m. Saturday, MetroSafe Communications reported multiple gunshots being fired in Jefferson Square Park. Arriving officers found one person shot in the face in the middle of the park near a short concrete wall, according to Lopez's arrest citation.

Bystanders return fire, wound accused shooter

Several witnesses identified Lopez, who had frequented the park, as the shooter. And video surveillance showed him shooting a handgun into the crowd, the citation says.

Several bystanders returned fire, shooting Lopez in the leg, according to the citation.

His citation noted he was in possession of a handgun "with two full mags of ammo" at the time of the arrest.

He was taken to University of Louisville Hospital and arrested and charged at 10:47 p.m., it states.

Read more:What we know about Saturday's fatal shooting at the downtown Louisville protest

Maxwell Mitchell, a protester who often streams video of the demonstrations, recorded video of the man identified as Lopez shooting multiple times Saturday night in the park.

Mitchell said Lopez fired at least two shots into the air before he shot toward the encampment. Video shown by LMPD at a Sunday press briefing showed a man they say is Lopez pointing his gun in the air, as those around him scattered.

A speaker at the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression press conference earlier Sunday made several references to Lopez, saying he had been involved in multiple disturbances at the camp and had to be escorted away from Jefferson Square Park before the shooting.

According to protesters, Lopez had an altercation with another person at the park Saturday, but it wasn't Gerth.

“I do not believe he was targeting the man that he hit,” Mitchell said.

Accused shooter a frequent participant in protests

Lopez has been a frequent sight at the protests, which have rocked the streets of Louisville for a month.

Several Courier Journal reporters have seen him among the crowd in recent days, and a speaker at a Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression press conference Sunday morning said he'd been among the crowd for the past 12 days at least.

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2...pjpg&auto=webp


https://www.courier-journal.com/stor...ed/3274385001/

Quote:

---

officials said they would not be identifying the shooting suspect at this time pending further investigation but did say he was wounded in the incident and remained in custody at the hospital.

---

Whenever you see this kind of information delay tactic, it most often means the suspect does not guel the preferred political narrative of the left wing media and city government.

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2...pjpg&auto=webp

Steven Nelson Lopez, 23, is facing charges of murder and first-degree wanton endangerment, Louisville Metro Police officials said Sunday after releasing his arrest citation.

Louisville man arrested for fatal shooting in Jefferson Square Park

https://www.wave3.com/resizer/0p-xcL...LWVFCXNJZI.jpg
Steven Nelson Lopez has been in police custody since the shooting occurred Saturday, charged with one count of murder and one count of wanton endangerment first degree. (Source: LMDC)

By Natalia Martinez | June 28, 2020 at 5:45 PM EDT - Updated June 28 at 5:45 PM

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - The man accused of fatally shooting a local photographer at Jefferson Square Saturday night had been arrested twice before for rioting related charges.

WAVE 3 News has learned the suspect’s name is Steven Nelson Lopez. He’s been in police custody since the shooting occurred Saturday around 9 p.m. He’s been charged with one count of murder and one count of wanton endangerment first degree.

Lopez, who had been camping at Jefferson Square had been asked to leave earlier in the day by other protesters for his "disruptive behavior" Mayor Greg Fischer said during a press conference Sunday afternoon.

According to an arrest report, LMPD officers notified MetroSafe of multiple gunshots fired in Jefferson Square Park around 8:59 p.m. Officers responded on scene at this time to find a victim suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.

The victim was found unresponsive lying in the middle of the park near a concrete wall.

Lopez, according to the report, was seen shooting a firearm into a large crowd of people at the park. The gunfire struck the victim, later revealed by the coroner as Tyler Gerth.

Gerth was shot in the head and pronounced dead on scene by officers.

Lopez was identified by multiple witnesses at the scene, and observed in video surveillance shooting the handgun into the crowd, where according to police, he was showing “extreme indifference to the value of human life and creating a substantial danger of death or serious injury to others.”

While the suspect shot into the crowd, other bystanders returned fire to protect their life and the lives of others. Lopez sustained a non-serious injury from a gunshot wound to the leg during the crossfire.

Lopez was taken into custody on scene without further incident and transported to the hospital.

WAVE 3 News Troubleshooters found Lopez had been arrested twice, back to back, in the last two weeks.

On June 17th Lopez was arrested for inciting a riot, disorderly conduct, harassment and buying/possessing drug paraphernalia. Just two days later, records show Lopez was arrested yet again on June 19th. Those charges included unlawful assembly and disorderly conduct.

https://www.wave3.com/2020/06/28/lou...n-square-park/

33 arrested after protesters block Louisville highway demanding justice for Breonna Taylor

Tuesday, June 30, 2020 6:01AM
EMBED <>MORE VIDEOS

Protesters blocked lanes on the Clark Memorial Bridge Monday morning, bringing traffic to a standstill.


LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Police brutality protesters blocked a bridge connecting Kentucky to Indiana for three hours before police dispersed the crowd and arrested 33 people.

Protesters blocked lanes on the Clark Memorial Bridge Monday morning, bringing traffic to a standstill.


The bridge connects Louisville, Kentucky, to Jeffersonville, Indiana.

RELATED: Man fatally shot at a Louisville park during protests over the killing of Breonna Taylor

Protesters had set up banners on the roadway with images of Breonna Taylor, an Black woman shot and killed by Louisville Metro Police officers who were performing a no-knock warrant.

One sign read: "They tried to bury me. They didn't know I was a seed. Breonna Taylor. The revolution is now."

Police reached protesters and asked the crowd to disperse.

Police said 33 people were arrested and 19 vehicles were towed.

https://abc7chicago.com/society/prot...ested/6284240/