Black Lives Matter Protestor Arrested For Murdering Another Protestor
A man that participated in many of the protests and riots in the Louisville area has been criminally charged for the alleged fatal shooting of a photographer after a dispute at the Jefferson Park encampment.
Steven Nelson Lopez, 23, is facing murder charges and has been accused of killing Tyler Gerth, a 27-year-old Louisville photographer and vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Around 8:59 pm Saturday, a report of multiple gunshots being fired in Jefferson Square Park were reported to the police. Upon arrival, police found one person shot in the face.
Multiple witnesses identified Lopez, as the shooter and video surveillance showed him shooting a handgun into a crowd of other protestors, the police citation reads.
Bystanders in the area of the shooting also returned fire hitting Lopez in the leg.
Maxwell Mitchell, a protester who conducts live streams during protests recorded a video of the man identified as Lopez shooting into a crowd of protestors on Saturday night.
Mitchell claimed that Lopez fire two shots into the before shooting into the encampment.
The shooting seemed to related to some type of disagreement going on between Lopez and other protestors at the encampment. During a press conference on Sunday, a speaker at the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression mention Lopez. The speaker claimed that Lopez had been involved “multiple disturbances” at the camp and was escorted away from the park before the shooting.
Other witnesses confirmed that Lopez did have some type of beef with another person at the park but it was not Gerth.
“I do not believe he was targeting the man that he hit,” Mitchell said.
The Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression reported that Lopez has been with the group of protestors at the encampment for at least 12 days. According to court records, Lopez was arrested on June 17th and charged with inciting a riot, disorderly conduct, harassment and possession of drug paraphernalia. The citation also noted he was carrying a firearm “with two full mags of ammo” at the time of the arrest.