This story will be updated with more details as news comes out. Louisville police responded on Sunday afternoon to reports of what they initially described as an "active aggressor" during the Run 4 The Roses grassroots girls basketball tournament at the Kentucky Expo Center. No victims were reported after a mass evacuation from the facility,...
This story will be updated with more details as news comes out.
Louisville police responded on Sunday afternoon to reports of what they initially described as an "active aggressor" during the Run 4 The Roses grassroots girls basketball tournament at the Kentucky Expo Center.
No victims were reported after a mass evacuation from the facility, and despite claims on social media of an active shooter situation, police concluded no shots were fired following the initial investigation.
A similar active agressor report came nearby at Kentucky Kingdom, again with no victims and a conclusion of no shots fired following police investigation. These followed two active shooter situations in Kentucky just hours earlier. Two women were killed at a church in Lexington, Ky., and a police trooper was shot near Blue Grass Airport.
"LMPD understands that people are on high alert after the incident today in Lexington with the trooper and the church. We understand you're on high alert about that," police said in the briefing.
The Run 4 The Roses is among the largest AAU basketball tournaments in the country and drew many of New England's top programs. Sunday was the start of the championships portion of the event. The Boston Showstoppers, Connecticut Basketball Club, Worcester Sting, XGen Elite and D4S, as well as some secondary teams in the Bay State Jaguars programs, were among the area teams competing in the championship portion.
Other programs, like the Bay State Jaguars' Under Armour teams, MT Ducks and Dana Barros Elite, had left for Indiana by Sunday and were not present.
On Monday, police said the mass disturbance was caused by a ceiling tile that had fallen onto a metal chair, around the same time a woman was having a medical emergency. Police added that fire alarms went off due to a duct smoke sensor, collectively triggering a mass panic as teams and spectators evacuated the Kentucky Expo Center during the mid-afternoon portion of Run 4 The Roses. The Run 4 The Roses' official Twitter/X account released a statement Monday night with a similar conclusion.
The Run 4 The Roses account said Sunday that all basketball activities were suspended for the rest of the day, but the tournament would continue on Monday. The account also posted updated security protocols, including handheld metal detectors and bag checks. Many teams, like the Showstoppers, decided not to continue participating following the traumatic event.
