This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Two people were killed and four were injured in a shooting at a football tournament in Louisville, Kentucky, on Thursday.

Police said there were no suspects in custody and they had not established a motive for the shooting, which occurred during an annual football tournament that dates back to the 1950s.

Department spokesman Dwight Mitchell told reporters that the four survivors suffered non-life-threatening injuries and had been taken to the hospital. “When you have a tragedy like this take place, certainly it puts a damper on anyone celebrating,” Mitchell said.

Lauren Adams (@WLKYLaurenAdams) Shawnee Park closed down as police investigate shootings. Juice Bowl fans shocked, saddened event turned into this. pic.twitter.com/c5XJBaHTHL

The shooting occurred at Shawnee Park, where a youth football tournament called the Juice Bowl is held every year on Thanksgiving Day. The event began in the 1950s and families are known to arrive at the park early on Thursday to secure prime seats for the all-day community celebration.



“To have people with guns so disrespect life, Shawnee Park, and neighborhood tradition is sad and has no place in our city,” said Louisville’s mayor, Greg Fischer, who attended the tournament and said he was about 150 yards from the shooting.

Gunshots rang out around 1.30pm, just after children finished playing football and two women’s teams were playing a flag football game, according to the Courier Journal. The men’s games scheduled for the afternoon were cancelled.

Fischer asked people with information on the shooting to contact police, noting that there had been a recent uptick in homicides in the city.