A man in his early 20s has been charged fatally shooting another man Saturday at a park in Louisville, Kentucky.
Protesters were gathered to demand justice for the killing of Breonna Taylor before shots rang out.
However, Steven Nelson Lopez of Louisville was arrested and charged with murder and wanton endangerment, according to a Louisville Metropolitan Police Department arrest citation report.
In addition, Tyler Charles Gerth, 27, of Louisville was named the victim of the attack. He was shot in the head, according to the arrest citation.
Lopez was shot in the leg by bystanders and was hospitalized after being taken into custody, the citation says.
Peaceful Protests Get No Peace
According to reports, police did not fire any weapons and the only people shot were Lopez and the deceased victim.
The initial calls of shots fired came in around 9 p.m., the police said, and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department deputies at the park attempted life-saving measures on the man who died at the scene.
Police said protesters will no longer be allowed to stay in the park overnight, but peaceful gatherings can continue during the day. No tents of any kind will be allowed.
“While most protesters in the park have been largely peaceful, things changed last night when shots rang out,” said Louisville Sgt. Lamont Washington to CNN.
“We continue to support the peaceful exercise of free speech. However, our primary focus must be on public safety.”
Mayor Greg Fischer said he’s “deeply saddened” by the violence.
“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.”
The protests were in response to the death by police of Breonna Tayloe in Louisville.
Taylor, an EMT, was killed in March after police officers forced their way inside her home. She was shot at least eight times when three officers forcibly entered her apartment to serve a search warrant in a narcotics investigation.
The department said the men announced themselves and returned gunfire when Taylor’s boyfriend fired at them.
Officers didn’t find drugs in her apartment when they entered, her family has said.
