Law enforcement officers fired 18 shots on night of McAtee death

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - State officials said Tuesday that LMPD and National Guard officers fired 18 shots during the incident that left a popular restaurant owner dead Monday morning.

J. Michael Brown, secretary of Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive cabinet, said Tuesday that investigators are in the early stages of processing evidence from the scene outside YaYa’s BBQ Shack in west Louisville, where owner David McAtee was shot and killed.

“We have collected shell casings, and those weapons are also in our custody for further testing,” Brown said.

Brown also said a search of McAtee’s property yielded seven weapons -- six handguns and a shotgun.

“We clearly believe one of them was discharged,” he said. “We’re trying to match those weapons with any of the shell casings that were found in the vicinity.” Earlier Tuesday, LMPD released surveillance video from McAtee’s restaurant showing that he fired his gun at some point.

Brown said McAtee was shot once in the chest.

Just a day after Lousiville Mayor Greg Fischer fired LMPD Chief Steve Conrad, Beshear demanded that police move swiftly in the McAtee investigation.

“Good, bad or ugly, our commitment is to the truth,” he said Tuesday. “That’s what the people of Kentucky deserve. That’s what the families involved in this deserve, and that’s what we’re giong to ensure happens.”

While the McAtee family has insisted their gathering late Sunday night and early Monday morning wasn’t related to the weekend protests honoring another police shooting victim, Breonna Taylor, Beshear said Tuesday that he was dialing back the National Guard’s presence in Louisville. He called them in Saturday, following consecutive nights of protests across the city that ended up turning violent.

Monday marked the fifth straight night of protests, but they were milder than the previous four nights by comparison.