'It was chaos': Witnesses describe panic after LMPD shooting at Louisville's Shawnee Park

A man who Louisville Metro Police officials say shot an officer at a crowded event Sunday evening in Shawnee Park before police shot him faces multiple charges, including attempted murder.

The shooting happened just after 8 p.m. in the aftermath of the Dirt Bowl 2022 basketball tournament, according to LMPD spokesperson Alicia Smiley, who said the man pulled out a weapon and shot an officer who was wearing a bulletproof vest in the chest.

That officer, who police have not identified, was released from the hospital and is recovering, LMPD Chief Erika Shields told reporters. Meanwhile, the man accused of shooting the officer – 30-year-old Herbert Lee, who Shields said is “well-known within law enforcement circles” with more than 10 outstanding warrants – was still hospitalized Monday, though the chief said he's expected to survive.

Officers were attempting to serve Lee a warrant when the shooting occurred.

Lee is in stable condition, according to a Monday morning update from LMPD. Upon his release, he will be charged with attempted murder of a police officer, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and first-degree fleeing or evading, along with receiving stolen property and restricted ammunition, department spokesperson Beth Ruoff said.

Want a cheap ride?: Bid on Louisville's 1,000+ impounded vehicles and other surplus property

Shields said the officer who was shot is "very fortunate," as the round that struck him would probably have killed him if he weren't wearing a bulletproof vest.

Lee's outstanding warrants included possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and wanton endangerment, according to LMPD. The firearm he was accused of using Sunday evening was recovered at the scene, according to police.

Lee had previously been convicted in 2010 of manslaughter in a high-profile case following a December 2008 crash in which he fled from police, smashing a stolen car into a tree and killing four teens who had been in the car with him. Lee, who was 16 at the time of the crash, spent a year in a state juvenile justice facility before being released.

The warrants officers were attempting to serve Sunday evening were not connected to that incident.

Bruce Sweeney, who was attending the tournament, said a game had just ended when the crowd saw police approaching the courts. When the police arrived, Sweeney said he and a group of attendees followed the officers because they didn't know what they were about to do.

“Next thing I knew, the dude took off running," Sweeney said. "They ran too ... next thing I know, shots came out.”

There was a sizable crowd on site at the time of the shooting, Sweeney added, including multiple families and children.

Leslie Mcbride said she was watching a young boy shooting hoops at the park when she heard what sounded like a burst of firecrackers begin to go off. When she realized what was happening, she ran.

"It was chaos," she said. "People were yelling and screaming and running. My first thought was, 'Oh my God, it's a mass shooter.' And there were children everywhere."

More headlines: Father of Iowa basketball recruit dies after crash in Louisville

Shields defended the timing of the officers who were serving the warrant. They waited until the tournament ended, she said, to allow time to "get folks out of there before they took him into custody.” Lee had been out on bond at the time of the shooting, she said.

"I think they were very judicial in waiting until the event was over so there were not multiple individuals around," Shields told reporters Monday. "... When you let individuals who are known felons who possess guns illegally out on low bond or home incarceration, it’s inevitable that we are going to have officers in a space where they’re going to have to deal with these things."

Still, Mcbride said when the shooting began, there were hundreds of people at Shawnee Park. Some were in line at a food truck on site, some were walking around the park and others had just finished watching the game.

Shields said she had not seen body camera footage from the shooting but acknowledged it exists and will be released, noting it was taken from a distance and will be "harder to see." Interviews with officers involved with the shooting are underway, she said.

Eddie Davis was at the park to take photos of the basketball tournament and was just packing up when the shooting began. Over the next five minutes, in his estimation, he said he counted well over 20 shots.

"Why was there so much gunfire for just one person?" Davis asked. "It sounded like there was an excessive amount of shots, and it was obvious that there were a lot of people shooting their guns."

After the shooting, Davis said he saw Lee bleeding on the ground surrounded by at least 20 officers. And he said it took an ambulance more than 20 minutes to arrive, during which time more officers continued to arrive at the scene, which was roped off with yellow tape.

For Courier Journal subscribers: The fight for control over Waverly Hills, Louisville's most haunted site, gets even uglier

That area, a large opening by the Shawnee Park baseball field, was still closed after 10 p.m., with more than a dozen police cars still on site. A small crowd had gathered along Southwestern Parkway, calling out questions about what had happened and criticizing LMPD’s response. Davis said at one point the crowd began to chant "Black Lives Matter" as more officers arrived.

Kentucky State Police typically investigates shootings involving LMPD officers, and Smiley on Sunday said Louisville police are working with the agency. Shields said state police are currently backed up investigating a shooting in Eastern Kentucky earlier this month in which three law enforcement officers were killed in Floyd County and body camera footage will be released by LMPD instead of the state agency.

On Tuesday, a KSP spokesperson told The Courier Journal is "not involved in the investigation of that shooting at this time" but said the agency may take a role in the probe once LMPD's review is complete.

Reporter Bailey Loosemore contributed. Reach reporter Thomas Birmingham @TBirmingham@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @cthomasbirm. Reach assistant breaking news editor Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4649 or on Twitter @LucasAulbach.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Herbert Lee, shot by Louisville police at Shawnee Park, to be charged