Louisville, Ky. — At least seven people were shot as hundreds of protesters in downtown Louisville gathered Thursday night to demand justice for Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old ER tech who was shot and killed by Louisville Metro Police in March.
Some shots were heard on scene just before 11:30 p.m., and a police spokeswoman confirmed the injuries at 1 a.m. in a statement. Two victims required surgery.
"There have been some arrests, but at this time we are not able to tell you how many as the situation is ongoing," spokeswoman Alicia Smiley said in a statement, adding more information on the arrests would be available Friday morning.
Police officers did not fire their guns, Smiley said.
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Here's more on what we know about the protest:
When and where did it start?
The gathering began as early as 6 or 7 p.m. and stretched past midnight.
Crowds moved from outside City Hall on Sixth Street to in front of the KFC Yum Center, where more police officers began to engage with the crowd.
As heavy rains moved into the area in the early morning hours, much of the crowd dispersed.
How many protesters were there?
An estimated 500 to 600 protesters gathered in the streets of downtown Louisville.
Why was there a protest?
The death of Taylor, who was fatally shot March 13 by LMPD officers in her southwest Louisville apartment, was the main issue on the minds of protesters.
Chants of "no justice, no peace, prosecute the police" echoed through the streets as night fell and the hundreds who gathered traveled down Jefferson and Main streets.
Protesters, many of them white, linked arms, forming a wall across Sixth Street between Louisville City and Metro halls.
“Say her name!” yelled Chanelle Helm, a leader for Black Lives Matter Louisville.
“Breonna!” the crowd called in return.
Taylor's case has gained national and international attention in recent weeks as more information came to light on how police forced their way into her apartment as part of a narcotics investigation.
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Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said he and Taylor were scared and unsure of who was trying to gain entry to the apartment that night, while the officers have claimed they announced themselves several times.
After officers used a battering ram to force their way into the apartment on Springfield Drive, Walker fired one shot that he says was in self-defense before the three officers responded with a hail of bullets, hitting Taylor eight times.
No drugs were found inside Taylor's apartment, which was listed on a warrant due to police believing that another man named Jamarcus Glover was using it to stash drugs and money.
The FBI and Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron have since announced separate reviews of Taylor's death and the actions of the LMPD officers.
Was the protest also about George Floyd?
As mentioned, protesters focused mainly on calling for justice in Taylor's death.
But the protests in Louisville unfurled as other cities saw similar demonstrations over police killings of black Americans, including in Phoenix, Denver and Minneapolis, where a man named George Floyd died after a white officer pressed his knee into Floyd's neck.
Floyd's death this week was captured on camera. That footage, coupled with how a transcript of a 911 call revealed that a clerk had accused Floyd of buying cigarettes with fake money, ignited protests around the country.
What happened as the protest turned more violent?
The initially peaceful protest escalated as the night drew on, with the crowd being teargassed and glass storefronts shattered.
By 10 p.m., at least one group could be seen verbally clashing with police officers near the Yum Center.
The officers carried wooden batons and were wearing body armor and face shields. An armored truck was stationed nearby.
It is unknown how many officers were called in to the protest.
At one point, protesters threw things at police officers and kicked a patrol car.
When one officer was surrounded by protesters near Bearno's by the Bridge, a pizza parlor near the Second Street bridge and the Yum Center, protest organizers stepped in to make sure the officer was not harmed.
Around 11 p.m., a line of officers advanced down East Main Street, dispersing a large crowd.
But not long after, hundreds congregated a few blocks south again in front of Metro Hall, where a group of protesters had been trying to tip an armored vehicle, breaking its windows and slashing its tires.
Just before 11:30 p.m., multiple rounds of gunfire then rang out near Sixth and Jefferson streets. At least seven wounded victims were seen being carried away on stretchers.
LMPD later confirmed that seven people had been shot and two required surgery. Further updates on their conditions were not available.
There were reports of tear gas being used, though an LMPD spokesperson was not able to confirm that.
Who fired the shots? Who was arrested?
LMPD said its officers did not fire their guns.
It remains unclear whether any arrests have been made in connection with the shooting and how many protesters were arrested throughout the night.
But LMPD spokesman Lamont Washington said the department plans on "providing updates at some point" Friday morning.
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What did Taylor's family and others say?
As the situation in downtown Louisville escalated, Taylor's family took to social media to plead for peace.
"We are not going to stop until we get justice," Juniyah Palmer, Taylor's younger sister, said in a video. "But we should stop tonight before people get hurt."
Jessie Halladay, a spokeswoman for LMPD, briefly addressed the media via video chat, saying, "this is not what we want for our city."
"What we are seeing tonight in this community is the obvious frustration and tension between police and residents," Halladay said. "What started out as a peaceful protest earlier this evening is now escalating into property damage, more aggressive action and we've just heard reports of shots fired in the crowd.
"We have a lot to work through in this community as a police department and as residents, together, but this is not the way."
Mayor Greg Fischer first commented on the protests just before midnight, sharing a post from Taylor's family, which called for peace.
"Understandably, emotions are high," he said. "As Breonna's mother says, let's be peaceful as we work toward truth and justice."
The mayor later released a video in which he said "(a)nswering violence with violence" was not the proper response to Taylor's death.
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"I feel the community's frustration, anger, the fear, but tonight's violence and destruction is not the way to solve it," Fischer said in the video. "Gunfire and vandalism does not advance our cause — and it cannot be tolerated."
Several streets were closed to car traffic, including the Second Street Bridge. LMPD asked the public to avoid the area around Second Street due to the "large crowd."
Halladay said police had used "great restraint throughout the evening" as protesters blocked traffic.
Palmer, Taylor's younger sister, wrote a statement on Facebook pleading for peace as protests escalated downtown.
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"We are so grateful for everyone giving Bre a voice tonight, for saying her name, for demanding truth, for demanding justice and for demanding accountability," Palmer wrote. "Please keep demanding this. But please keep it peaceful. Do not succumb to the levels that we see out of the police. Speak. Protest. But do not resort to violence. We demand change. We demand reform. But we do not need for our community to get hurt. We need for our community to get justice."
Are more protests planned?
Numerous Louisville groups are behind a "Freedom Fridays Caravan" that has featured cars and bicyclists circling around downtown over the past few weeks to demand the release of inmates from jails and prisons due to the spread of the novel coronavirus.
That same coalition said it will once again loop around downtown Friday but added that this week's demonstration, scheduled to start at 5 p.m. and last for 30 minutes, will also focus on "Justice for Breonna."
This story will be updated.
Tessa Duvall: 502-582-4059; tduvall@gannett.com; Twitter: @TessaDuvall. Darcy Costello: 502-582-4834; dcostello@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @dctello. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/darcyc.
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