Breonna Taylor Police Killing Protests: Seven Wounded By Gunfire At Demonstrations
At least seven people were shot and wounded in Louisville during demonstrations over the police shooting death of Breonna Taylor, an EMT who was killed March 13 when police burst into her apartment during a botched drug raid.
Frustrated people took to the city’s streets to call for justice in Taylor’s death, which led to violent clashes, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.
However, a Louisville Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson claims no officers fired their weapons. The shooting victims were hospitalized but their conditions are unknown. No arrests in the shootings have been announced by officials.
According to the Courier-Journal, between 500 and 600 people marched through the city’s downtown area calling out Taylor’s name and demanding charges for the officers involved in her death. They have been identified as Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove.
Taylor, 26, and her boyfriend Kenneth Walker were in their apartment after midnight when the officers entered the unit on a “no-knock” warrant, according to police reports. Believing they were intruders, Walker fired his weapon, wounding one officer and then officers opened fire. Taylor was hit by at least eight bullets and died at the scene.
Walker was arrested and charged with attempted murder, but charges against him have since been dropped. Since that time, Taylor’s family has demanded accountability for what happened to their daughter.
“Breonna’s death broke us,” her mother Tamika Palmer told BET.com recently. “She was a big part of our lives. I hope that this never happens to anyone else. No one should ever have to go through this. No-knock warrants should be banned. It makes any sense and body cams should always be used. This is how you avoid stuff like this.”
Protesters marked earlier Thursday evening calling through bullhorns, “we came for peace” while others chanted Taylor’s name. At one point, the Courier-Journal reported, protesters even stepped in to protect an officer when he was surrounded by protesters.