Louisville: Man shot dead at Black Lives Matter rally

A man has been pronounced dead at a protest in the US city of Kentucky where a black woman was killed by police in March.

A man has been shot dead and another wounded at a Black Lives Matter protest in the US state of Kentucky.

The incident took place on Saturday evening (Kentucky time) at Jefferson Square Park in the centre of the city of Louisville where protesters had been have gathered for weeks over the killing of African-American woman Breonna Taylor.

Ms Taylor, 26, was a medic who was shot dead in March by Louisville police officers when they raided her home looking for drugs, none of which were found.

Her death helped fuel a campaign against racism and police brutality in the US that has since spread across the globe.

Louisville Metro Police Department said officers were called to the park at around 9pm.

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Breonna Taylor, ho was shot dead by police raiding her home in March. Picture: Taylor family lawyer Sam Aguiar via AP.

“Calls then came in that Sheriff’s Department personnel were in the park performing lifesaving measures on a male who eventually died at the scene,” the department said on Twitter.

Soon after another person was shot across the street at the city’s Hall of Justice, police added.

It was unclear if there was more than one shooter and authorities have yet to release any details of the victims.

Just about 9 p.m., there were reports of shots fired in Jefferson Square Park. Calls then came in that Sheriff’s Department personnel were in the park performing life-saving measures on a male who eventually died at the scene.

— LMPD (@LMPD) June 28, 2020

Louisville mayor Greg Fischer said he was “deeply saddened by the violence.” Before the shooting, Fischer had urged counter-protesters to stay away from the park, after a local newspaper reported that “armed patriot groups” were planning on confronting the demonstrators.

Louisville has seen especially passionate Black Lives Matter protests due to the police killing of Taylor in her own apartment.