Five teenagers were injured in a shooting in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday, only hours after an anti-gun violence rally was held in the city.
The teens were shot near the Big Four Bridge, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD), which was called to the scene at around 9:05 p.m. There, officers found three teenagers with gunshot wounds, one of whom had suffered life-threatening injuries and was in critical condition.
All three teenagers were brought to University Hospital. Two more teens later arrived at the hospital in their own car with gunshot wounds that were not life-threatening, Maj. Brian Kuriger of the LMPD said at a press conference.
Police have not disclosed the name of the teens or their ages, as they're all juveniles, but the victims include both males and females.
"We know the park was filled with a lot of people," Kuriger told reporters on Saturday. "Parents, please, on the weekends, we enjoy the fact that juveniles are coming down here and enjoying the park. But they need to be supervised. We need to have supervision."
"This is a family area, we want it to stay a family area. But at this time, we are seeing a lot of juveniles that are being unsupervised and all kinds of things are occurring," he added. "If a parent was here, it could possibly deter that."
LMPD does not yet have a suspect.
Saturday's mass shooting in Kentucky was the 10th so far this week across the nation, according to the Gun Violence Archive, an independent research group collecting data on gun violence and gun-related crimes in the U.S.
Hours before the shooting that injured the five teens, a march against gun violence was held in Louisville, part of the March for Our Lives protests held in cities across the U.S.
Here at the Louisville March for our Lives. Speakers are pleading for lawmakers to do something about gun reform. @WHAS11 pic.twitter.com/4g8Tu1bQeD
— Ford Sanders WHAS 11 (@fordsandersTV) June 11, 2022
Charles Booker, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Kentucky, wrote that he attended the Louisville rally on Saturday.
"This devastating news is a painful reminder that inaction is not an option," he said on Twitter, commenting on the announcement of the shooting near Big Four Bridge.
Today, my family and I marched in solidarity with Louisville's youth to call for an end to gun violence.
— Charles Booker (@Booker4KY) June 12, 2022
Tonight, while holding Baby Justyce, I learned of a mass shooting a few blocks from where we marched that leaves several young people fighting for their lives. https://t.co/8Lcx2HdFhG
Tens of thousands of people protested across the nation on Saturday as part of the events organized by March for Our Lives, a student-led group that was born in 2018 after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed and 17 more injured by a 19-year-old gunman.
After the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, when 19 students and two teachers were killed, the group organized another big day of protests on June 11.
"After countless mass shootings and instances of gun violence in our communities, it's time to take back to the streets and march for our lives. We marched in 2018 after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Florida, and now we're headed back to DC," a statement on the March for Our Lives' page reads.
President Joe Biden backed the protests, calling on Congress to pass stricter gun legislation.
Update, 12/06/2022 5:05 a.m. ET. This article has been updated to provide more context on the story.
