LOUISVILLE, Ky. —Two people were shot, one fatally, in downtown Louisville Saturday evening, according to police.
According to police, around 9 p.m., shots were fired in Jefferson Square Park. Personnel from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department performed live-saving measures on a male victim who eventually died.
Shortly thereafter, police received reports of another person shot at the Hall of Justice. That person was taken to University Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
"Officers cleared the park completely and have secured the entire area so homicide detectives can conduct their investigation," LMPD spokesman Lamont Washington wrote Saturday evening at 11:27 p.m. "Detectives are trying to gather as much information as possible in order to identify all who were involved in the incident."
Washington added that the park will remain closed for the next several hours, and that police will provide additional information in the morning as it becomes available.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said in a statement Saturday evening that he is "deeply saddened by the violence that erupted in Jefferson Square Park tonight, where those who have been voicing their concerns have been gathered."
"It is a tragedy that this area of peaceful protest is now a crime scene," Fischer said. "My thanks to the first responders who assisted at the scene. I will have more to say tomorrow, as additional information becomes available."
WATCH: Police remain at scene of shooting at Jefferson Square Park
Jefferson Square Park has been the scene of protests over the police shooting of Breonna Taylor for weeks, and people have raised tents there and have been staying overnight.
A video on Facebook of the scene shows a man firing a gun. People screamed for a medic, and at least one person was down on the ground.
According to one witness at the scene, who did not want to be identified, she was at the park when she heard shots and immediately dropped to the ground.
Another person at the park, Anna, who came Saturday evening to meet with other protesters to march in downtown Louisville, said she wasn't sure where the shots came from, as she had heard fireworks at the protests before.
Almost immediately, everyone started running, and Anna did, too. She and a friend ran to a nearby Chase Bank and banged on the doors to let them in, "because we were freaked out." When she returned to Jefferson Square Park about 30 minutes later, Anna said there were 30 to 40 officers outside.
"I'm really shaken up," said Anna, a teenager who did not give her last name. "It was really scary ... There was just a lot of confusion. Nobody really knew what was going on."
Earlier: Protest supporters bring guns to downtown Louisville in anticipation of militia group
Julie Sullivan, a protester who was at Jefferson Square Park during the shooting, said she started yelling at everyone to "get down" when she heard the gun shots.
Sullivan said she tried to help a women find her kids shortly after hearing the gun shots. She added that police eventually blocked off the camp at Jefferson Square Park.
"The cops had it blocked off, and they were telling us to get out," Sullivan said. "And everybody started to walk, and I was like, 'Take whatever you need.' Because these people are living here. There cell phones or whatever might be in the camp."
At the corner of Jefferson and Fifth streets, there were more than a dozen police cruisers around 9:45 p.m., with tape blocking off Jefferson Square Park. People have not been allowed back inside the park, according a Courier Journal reporter at the scene, and police interviewed people inside the park.
Shortly before 10 p.m., a group of LMPD officers arrived in Jefferson Square Park in riot gear. Several people confronted the officers.
The Transit Authority of River City, or TARC, announced at 10:04 p.m. that all stops between Broadway & River Road, and between First & Ninth streets in the downtown Louisville area, are closed for the remainder of Saturday.
Around 10:15 p.m., Louisville Metro Police were pushing a group to a sidewalk across from Jefferson Square Park, declaring an unlawful assembly and threatening to use force. Uniformed police are guarding the tents at the park and facing Metro Hall.
At 10:30 p.m., a group of protesters held a moment of silence for those who were shot. Chants of "say her name, Breonna Taylor" broke out afterwards.
Around 11:15 p.m., there was still a large police presence at Jefferson Square Park. Things were mostly quiet, as there was little confrontation between police and protesters, and chants had stopped.
By 11:30 p.m., a few dozen onlookers remained on sidewalks as police continued to block off Jefferson Street between Fifth and Sixth streets. The atmosphere was calmer, with police seen escorting several people to their vehicles on Jefferson and Sixth streets. The blue and red sirens of the dozen or so squad cars surrounding the park continued to signal that a crime scene remained active.
Democratic Kentucky Senate candidate Charles Booker wrote in a tweet Saturday night "praying for our city" in response to the shooting.
Another Democratic Kentucky Senate candidate, Mike Broihier, wrote in a tweet Saturday evening that he is "heartbroken to hear of a shooting in Louisville.
"We must stand strong against those who would bring violence to peaceful protest," Broihier wrote.
This story will update.
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One killed in shooting at Jefferson Square Park in downtown Louisville, LMPD confirms - Courier Journal
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