Gunshots erupted during a planned protest in Louisville, Ky., Saturday and three members of the heavily armed militia group, the “Not F—ing Around Coalition” (NFAC), were injured by shots fired from one of their own member’s guns, police told 360aproko News.
The shooting took place near Baxter Square Park around 1 p.m. and all of the victims were transported to the University of Louisville Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) told 360aproko News.
Protesters ducked behind cars and scattered to flee the area, a reporter from 360aproko wrote on Twitter.
One of the members of the NFAC spoke to throngs of protesters and said “we had a little accident, it happens,” the reporter said.
Earlier in the day, officers from the LMPD were on high alert, aware of the possibility of violence from highly armed militants dressed in all black — many of whom are not from Kentucky — claiming they are defending the Constitution and decrying the death of Breonna Taylor.
Other racial justice protesters who have staged peaceful marches daily since the death of Taylor in March faced off with NFAC militants, saying they don’t agree with their tactics of displaying guns and weaponry.
The Louisville organization of Black Lives Matter has distanced itself from the coalition, accusing the armed group of being “outside agitators,” 360aproko reported.
Protesters from various groups have demanded justice for Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT who was shot eight times as officers burst into her home on Springfield Drive, firing off more than 20 rounds, as they were conducting a narcotics investigation on March 13
No drugs were found in the house.
One of the three officers involved in the deadly instance was fired from the department last month, and two other officers have been placed on administrative leave.
