Two dead, 4 injured at 'Juice Bowl' football event

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Two people were killed and four others injured in a shooting at a park in Louisville, Kentucky Thursday during a youth football game.

The gunfire erupted shortly after 2 p.m. in the annual gathering of games at Shawnee Park.

Louisville Metro Police spokesman Dwight Mitchell said four victims were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police have not yet made any arrests and are searching for possible suspects.

The shooting took place during the annual "Juice Bowl" youth football game at Shawnee Park, which had to be canceled. Coaches scrambled to get players to a safe place as police evacuated the park.

Children had finished playing football and two women's teams were in the middle of a flag football game when several shots were fired.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer was about 200 yards from the gunfire.

"The Juice Bowl is a longtime Thanksgiving Day tradition filled with family and community cheer," the mayor said in a post on Facebook. "To have people with guns so disrespect life, Shawnee Park, and neighborhood tradition is sad and has no place in our city.

"I implore those with information about the shooting to please call LMPD. Witnesses who remain silent, as has been the case with too many shootings in the past, will solve nothing. The increase in homicides in our city should be alarming to everyone -- and LMPD needs the public's help to solve these crimes. Please call the anonymous tip line at 574-LMPD."

"Like hundreds of others, I was attending the Juice Bowl to share in this great community event when the shootings occurred. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of all those impacted by today's violence."

The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive are assisting in the investigation.