A top Beshear Administration official says David McAtee fired the first shot in an altercation earlier this month that left the Louisville man dead.
Secretary for the Executive Cabinet Michael Brown provided an update on the McAtee investigation at Governor Andy Beshear’s COVID-19 update Tuesday. Brown said McAtee fired at least two shots in the direction of Louisville Metro Police officers and Kentucky National Guardsmen responding to reports of a curfew violation in the area.
“I believe Mr. McAtee fired the first shot,” Brown said. “He was firing in their direction and he did it at least twice.”
The shot that killed McAtee came from the gun of a national guardsman. Beshear said the National Guard’s Judge Advocate General (military lawyer) will make a statement regarding the identity of the involved guardsmen.
Beshear also provided an update on the phased reopening of Kentucky’s economy. He said organizations including restaurants and retail stores with a current capacity of 33% will be allowed to increase the limit to 50% after one month of business. Specific dates will be released in the coming days.
The governor’s office accepted a plan this week for the modified operation of the Kentucky State Fair. Use of the Kentucky Exposition Center, a facility traditionally used extensively in the fair, will be limited as the state maintains a COVID-19 field hospital in the building.
Beshear announced 245 new cases of the coronavirus Tuesday, bringing the statewide total to 11,708. Five Kentuckians died as a result of the virus, including a 53-year-old woman from McCracken County. Kentucky’s COVID-19 death toll now sits at 477.
Find more information concerning the coronavirus pandemic in Kentucky here.