At least three people are dead and as many as three more have been injured in an outbreak of shootings Thursday afternoon in west Louisville, Ky.
When police arrived at the 1000 block of 32nd Street, they found two men dead of gunshot wounds, police spokesman Dwight Mitchell said. A third man was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The third person was killed after a scuffle broke out between two women in a crowd that had gathered behind police tape at the scene, said Police Chief Steve Conrad.
As they scuffled, one woman pulled out a gun and fired on the other woman, Conrad said. An officer who was standing near the scuffle responded, firing at least one shot, shooting the woman with the gun, Conrad said. She was taken to the hospital, where her condition is unknown, he said. The other woman died at the scene.
Conrad said the police officer who fired his weapon will be placed on administrative leave.
The man who received life-threatening injuries in the initial shooting drove away from the scene before he was taken to the hospital, Mitchell said.
“This was pretty brazen,” Mitchell said.
As a result of the shootings, University Hospital — where the shooting victims were taken — was placed on lockdown. David McArthur, a hospital spokesman, said on the advice of police, a series of “heightened security measures” were put in place.
Jefferson County Public School officials said that five schools in the area were not on lock down, but that as a precaution, they were on a high security level. Students who live in the vicinity of the shooting where the school district has a bus stop were taken to Central High School.
Parents could pick the students up from there, said district spokeswoman Lauren Roberts. Otherwise, the district will take them home when the area is cleared.
