A man was killed after Louisville police officers and the Kentucky National Guard "returned fired" into a large crowd of protesters on Monday morning, NBC reports.
Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad released a statement explaining that his officers and members of the National Guard were sent to a parking lot to break up a large crowd. While doing so, the authorities were prompted to shoot into the crowd, firing shots that killed a man.
"Officers and soldiers began to clear the lot and at some point were shot at," Conrad said. "Both LMPD and National Guard members returned fire, we have one man dead at the scene."
It is unclear if the LMPD or the National Guard fired the fatal shots. Authorities have not released any information about the victim. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear released a statement that echoed Conrad's recount of the events. Beshear said that there are "several" persons of interest and that the Kentucky State Police has been tapped to handle the investigation.
People have been taking to the streets for four consecutive days in Louisville to protest the killings of George Floyd in Minnesota and Breonna Taylor, who was killed by Louisville police in March. More than 40 people were arrested on Sunday during the protests, which have turned violent on several occasions. The unrest includes Thursday when seven people were shot and Friday when reporter Kaitlin Rust was struck by non-lethal bullets while on the air.
