Two Cops Shot In Louisville Amid Breonna Taylor Protests

Two Louisville cops were shot on Wednesday night amid the massive Breonna Taylor protests in the city’s downtown.

The shooting incident came hours after the grand jury’s decision was handed down earlier that day, clearing current and former police officers in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor. Louisville was put in a state of emergency on Wednesday afternoon as officials anticipated unrest over the decision.

The Louisville Metro Police said the incident happened near Broadway and Brook Street on Wednesday night, 30 minutes before the city’s mandated curfew. Authorities said both victims sustained non-life-threatening injuries but admitted the incident was proof that street protests are not safe, even for cops.

“I am very concerned about the safety of our officers,” said LMPD interim police chief Robert Schroeder. “Obviously, we’ve had two officers shot tonight. And that is very scary and a very dangerous condition,” he added.

One of the victims suffered a gunshot wound in the abdomen, below his bulletproof vest, while the other one was hit in his thigh. Both police officers were immediately rushed to the hospital and are now recovering from their injuries.

Footage of that night shows that the two victims were fired at as fireworks exploded around 8:30 p.m. As the gun shots started to ring out, the officers scrambled to take cover but the two officers failed to dodge the bullets. “Shots fired! Shots fired!” one police officer yells after seeing one of the victims. “Right there, right there, yeah. Officer down,” she adds.

The LMPD revealed that one of the suspects linked to the shooting incident was already taken into custody. However, Schroeder neither revealed the identity of the suspect nor offered information as to whether or not he was one of the protesters that night.

Meanwhile, federal authorities are now aiding in the investigation of the incident. The FBI’s Louisville branch revealed on Twitter that authorities had been dispatched to the city to conduct the probe. “The FBI Louisville SWAT team has responded to an LMPD officer being shot and will continue to assist in the investigation,” said the FBI in a tweet.