At least nine police officers and sheriff's deputies were involved in a shooting that left a man dead after a robbery at a Stock Yards Bank branch in the Beechmont neighborhood today.
About noon a Jefferson County Sheriff's deputy saw an individual wearing a bandana enter the bank at 4825 S. Third St., Louisville Metro Police Department Chief Robert White said.
When the man left the bank, the deputy confronted him and the man showed a weapon and at least one shot was fired, White said. It was not clear who fired the shot, however, and the suspect fled in a car on Third Street with an undetermined amount of bank money.
The deputy called for back up and several Louisville police officers and deputies responded, the chief said.
The suspect, a white male, was stopped at the intersection of Third and Tenny Avenue where officers ordered him out of the car, but he did not initially respond, White said.
Later, however, he got out with a weapon and several shots were fired, resulting in the death of the suspect, according to the chief.
The shooting is being investigated by the LMPD Public Integrity Unit. Six metro police officers and three sheriff's deputies were involved in the shooting, said Alicia Smiley, a spokeswoman for the police department.
The six metro officers have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the investigation, which is standard procedure. Names of the officers have not yet been released.
The three sheriff's deputies also have been placed on paid administrative leave, said Carl Yates, a spokesman for the sheriff's department. Yates said the department is cooperating with the public integrity investigation. Some residents who live nearby said they heard what they believed to be multiple gunshots after hearing police shout at someone to put down a weapon.
Sue Griffin, who was visiting relatives on Tenny, said a neighbor called to say they had heard on a police scanner that a Stock Yards Bank branch had been robbed and that Griffin's relatives should lock their doors.
Shortly after that, she heard gunfire begin. She said she heard 14 shots.
Kenny Hite, who was visiting a friend on Tenny, said, "It was wild. I've never heard nothing like it before. They told him to put his gun down … and they opened fire."
Carl Hamm said he came out of his house and found police waving him back inside just before gunfire erupted. "It was unbelievable really."
Hamm said he saw police officers with handguns and rifles hiding behind their cars and firing at someone.
The part of the Beechmont neighborhood where the shooting occurred is a residential area of apartment buildings and single family homes.