Person killed in Louisville as police & troops return fire after shots from crowd

Police and National Guard members have used firearms against protesters in Louisville, Kentucky, killing one person, after they were targeted from the crowd, the city’s police chief said.

The security forces had been called in to disperse a large group of people that had gathered outside a food market on West Broadway, in violation of curfew. At around 12:15 am on Monday, a shot was fired from the crowd, with both police and troops immediately returning fire,

Steve Conrad, Louisville police chief, said. One of the protesters was killed, but it was unclear if he was the one who'd fired the shot. Several “persons of interest” were interviewed in relation to the incident, Conrad reported.

A video allegedly filmed at the moment of a shootout was posted on social media. It didn’t capture the incident itself, but a single gunshot and several salvos fired in return can be heard in the background.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said he'd authorized the police to independently investigate the shooting, “given the seriousness of the situation.”

Last week, seven people were wounded in downtown Louisville as shots were fired during riots. There were no fatalities, with police saying that its officers hadn’t used firearms and that the shootout occurred among protesters themselves. That was before the National Guard was deployed in the city.

US cities, including Minneapolis, New York, Atlanta, Portland and Chicago, have seen days of demonstrations and riots, with buildings torched and shops looted. The outrage of people was caused by the death of an African American man, George Floyd, during his arrest by police in Minneapolis. The law enforcers have so far been unable to curb the mayhem, with protesters demanding justice be served for the officers involved in Floyd’s death.

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