LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two people were killed and four others injured in Louisville, Kentucky, when someone shot into a crowd at a park on Saturday evening, the city’s second mass shooting of the week.
Louisville Metro Police said officers were dispatched around 9 p.m. to Chickasaw Park where they found multiple gunshot victims. Two victims were pronounced dead and four others were taken to University Hospital.
LMPD Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey said that “someone started shooting into the crowd, hitting at least six people” at a news conference late Saturday night broadcast by WHAS11.com.
He could not confirm the number of shooters but said there were hundreds of people in the park at the time.
Authorities said Sunday they were not aware of any special event taking place at the park, and police spokesperson Alice Smiley said the large crowd was not unusual due to the nice weather.
Authorities have not publicly identified the victims but Smiley said the four wounded included one adult female and three adult males. As of Sunday morning, one of the injured had been released from the hospital and one person who was admitted in critical condition was listed as critical but stable.
The nonprofit Gun Violence Archive tracks all mass shootings, defined as a shooting in which at least four victims are hit by gunfire. On Monday, six people died in a shooting at a bank in downtown Louisville – the 146th mass shooting in the country this year.
Eight other people were injured at Old National Bank, including two LMPD officers. The shooter, who was an employee at the bank, was killed by officers. A motive for the shooting has not been released.
“This has been an unspeakable week of tragedy for our city,” Mayor Craig Greenberg said at the news conference Saturday night. “This is not our city. This is not who we are. This is not who we want to be. … This is enough.”
‘This is happening tomorrow somewhere’:Louisville calls for change amid mourning for shooting victims
“As we move forward in the days ahead, we are going to be taking action to prevent these acts of gun violence,” the mayor said while not offering any specifics.
Shortly after the mayor spoke, LMPD officers responded to another shooting about 10 minutes away.
Officers were called to the 2200 block of Griffiths Avenue at 11:15 p.m. after a 17-year-old boy was shot multiple times by two men while riding his bike, according to LMPD. The boy was “alert, conscious and talking while being transported to University Hospital for treatment of what appears to be non-life threatening injuries,” a release from LMPD stated.
Neither of the two men, nor the shooter or shooters responsible for the park killings, has been arrested.
For the past three years, Louisville has endured triple-digit homicides.
Since the start of 2023, at least 40 people have been killed. Last year, LMPD investigated 160 homicides, with other Jefferson County police departments investigating a handful of additional homicides.
Contributing: Grace Hauck and Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
‘One degree away from anybody else’:Louisville shooting touches neighbors, governor alike