Louisville (US): At least seven people were shot here as protesters turned out to demand justice for Breonna Taylor, a black woman fatally shot by police in her home in March.
Louisville Metro Police confirmed in a statement early Friday that there were at least seven shooting victims. It said at least one of them is in critical condition. The statement said there were ‘some arrests’, but police didn’t provide a number.
“No officers discharged their service weapons,” police spokesman Lamont Washington wrote in an email. Washington said that all seven who were injured were civilians.
Around 500 to 600 demonstrators marched through the Kentucky city’s downtown streets Thursday night, the ‘Courier Journal’ reported. The protests stretched for more than six hours, ending in the early hours of Friday as rain poured down.
“Understandably, emotions are high,” Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer tweeted just before midnight. He shared a Facebook post asking for peace that he said was written on behalf of Taylor’s mother. “As Breonna’s mother says let’s be peaceful as we work toward truth and justice,” said the post.
Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical tech, was shot eight times March 13 after Louisville narcotics detectives knocked down the front door. No drugs were found in the home.
Attention on Taylor’s death has intensified after her family sued the police department earlier this month. The case has attracted national headlines alongside the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery in a Georgia neighbourhood in February.
Thursday’s demonstration came as protesters across the country – from Los Angeles to Memphis and New York to Minneapolis itself – have demonstrated against the death of a black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis police custody.
A live video from downtown Louisville around 12.30am showed some protesters behind makeshift wooden barricades, which appeared to be made out of picnic tables spray-painted with the words, “You can’t kill us all.” A small fire inside a trash can was visible in the middle of the street.
Police in body armor and face shields held batons and lined up around Louisville City Hall.
They appeared to fire rubber bullets and deploy tear gas canisters, fogging the air and inducing coughs among the remaining members of the crowd. Protesters were shown filming police with their cellphones.
Kentuckians are still under social distancing mandates driven by the coronavirus pandemic. Many protesters wore masks. Chants early Friday included, ‘No justice, no peace’ and ‘Whose streets? Our streets’.
AP
