Authorities in the US have charged a man with murder over a fatal shooting at a park in downtown Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday night, where demonstrators had gathered to protest the death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was shot in her home by police earlier this year.
Tyler Charles Gerth, 27, of Louisville, was named as the victim of the attack by the Jefferson county coroner’s office on Sunday.
Police said on Sunday that a man had been charged with murder and wanton endangerment over Gerth’s death. The suspect, identified by an arrest citation as Steven Nelson Lopez, was wounded in the leg by gunfire from bystanders at the park who were defending themselves, according to police.
Interim Louisville police chief Robert Schroeder said the suspect had been participating in the protests since they began and had been arrested a few times. “He had been repeatedly asked by other members at the park to leave due to his destructive behavior,” Schroeder said.
Reports of shots fired at Jefferson Square park were made around 9pm on Saturday, Louisville metro police said, and Jefferson county sheriff’s department officers performed emergency life-saving measures on Gerth, but he died at the scene. Another shooting victim across the street at the hall of justice was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
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.
Gerth’s family said he was “incredibly kind, tenderhearted and generous, holding deep convictions and faith.”
“It was this sense of justice that drove Tyler to be part of the peaceful demonstrations advocating for the destruction of the systemic racism within our society’s systems,” the family said in a statement to the Louisville Courier Journal.
The park has for weeks been the focus of protests in the city after the police killings of Taylor and George Floyd. Saturday night’s shooting was at least the second during nearly a month of protests in Louisville over Taylor’s death. Seven people were wounded 28 May when gunfire erupted near city hall, prompting a statement from Taylor’s mother asking people to demand justice “without hurting each other”.
“Praying for our city,” tweeted Charles Booker, the Kentucky state representative of Louisville. The Democrat is running for his party’s nomination to challenge Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell in the fall.
Taylor, 26, was killed in her Louisville home in March by police who were serving a no-knock warrant. Protesters have been calling for the officers involved in her death to be charged. One of the officers was recently dismissed.
Kenneth Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, was originally charged with attempted murder after he fired a shot at one of the officers. Walker has said he thought he was defending the home from intruders.
The no-knock search warrant that allows police to enter without first announcing their presence was recently banned by Louisville’s metro council.
