One person killed in shooting at US Black Lives Matter rally

The Black Lives Matter protest has taken a terrifying turn after one person was killed and another injured in a shooting at rally in the US state of Kentucky, police said.

The incident happened on Saturday at Jefferson Square Park in the center of Louisville where demonstrators have gathered for weeks over the killing of African American woman Breonna Taylor.

The woman’s death in March helped fuel a movement against racism and police brutality in the U.S that has since spread worldwide.

In a statement, Louisville Metro Police Department said officers were called to the park at around 9:00 pm.

“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,” the department said on Twitter.

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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.

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 local newspaper Louisville Courier Journal reported that “armed patriot groups” were planning on confronting the protesters.

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

Note that the 26-year-old emergency room technician was killed after police rushed into her home, alleging that drug dealers had used the apartment to receive packages.

The case triggered wave of anger in the US over racial injustice and police brutality.

Those protests expanded dramatically after the May 25 killing of  black man George Floyd.