Anti-Racism Rally Turns Deadly in U.S.
LOUISVILLE (Dispatches) -- One person died and another was injured in a shooting late on Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky’s Jefferson Square Park, which has become a center for protests against the police killing of a Black woman in her home in March.
The incident took place at Jefferson Square Park in the centre of Louisville where protestors have gathered for weeks over the killing of African American woman Breonna Taylor.
Her death in March helped fuel a campaign against racism and police brutality in the United States that has since spread across the globe.
Video posted on social media appeared to show a man opening fire into the park as people scrambled for cover. The footage later showed at least one person bleeding profusely on the ground.
Officers cleared the park and police "are trying to gather as much information as possible in order to identify all who were involved in the incident,” Louisville Metro police said in a statement. No information about arrests, possible suspects and the victims' identities and ages was immediately released.
Louisville has seen especially passionate Black Lives Matter protests due to the police killing of Taylor in her own apartment.
The 26-year-old emergency room technician was shot dead after police barged into her home, alleging that drug dealers had used the apartment to receive packages.
The case helped trigger fresh waves of anger in the United States over racial injustice and police brutality.
Those protests expanded dramatically after the May 25 killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in Minneapolis after a white police officer pinned his knee to Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes.
The two incidents and others have become a rallying cry in nationwide protests against police brutality and racial bias in the U.S. criminal justice system.
"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," Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said in a statement. "It is a tragedy that this area of peaceful protest is now a crime scene.”
The incident took place at Jefferson Square Park in the centre of Louisville where protestors have gathered for weeks over the killing of African American woman Breonna Taylor.
Her death in March helped fuel a campaign against racism and police brutality in the United States that has since spread across the globe.
Video posted on social media appeared to show a man opening fire into the park as people scrambled for cover. The footage later showed at least one person bleeding profusely on the ground.
Officers cleared the park and police "are trying to gather as much information as possible in order to identify all who were involved in the incident,” Louisville Metro police said in a statement. No information about arrests, possible suspects and the victims' identities and ages was immediately released.
Louisville has seen especially passionate Black Lives Matter protests due to the police killing of Taylor in her own apartment.
The 26-year-old emergency room technician was shot dead after police barged into her home, alleging that drug dealers had used the apartment to receive packages.
The case helped trigger fresh waves of anger in the United States over racial injustice and police brutality.
Those protests expanded dramatically after the May 25 killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in Minneapolis after a white police officer pinned his knee to Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes.
The two incidents and others have become a rallying cry in nationwide protests against police brutality and racial bias in the U.S. criminal justice system.
"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," Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said in a statement. "It is a tragedy that this area of peaceful protest is now a crime scene.”