Friday December 5, 2025
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SubscribeArea students received the following notification today following a supposed twitter prank in which the user threatened to “shoot up UofL”:
UofL Police Department has received a tweet from an unknown subject saying he is on his way to “shoot up UofL.” Report suspicious activity to 852-6111
Social media networks exploded with activity as word of the threat spread by email, text message, and phone while concerned family members rushed to warn others or check on their friends and family.
The twitter handle, which apparently belongs to a University of Louisville class of 2018 student named Cameron, deleted the post after remaining up for several minutes. Following the deletion of the tweet, someone calling themselves “Jillian” posted another series of messages claiming that they were just joking, saying that they “didn’t think it was that big of a deal” and apologized if they “offended anyone.”
ULPD and LMPD reacted quickly, seeking out the person who sent the threat and warning those who may have been in danger. The all clear message indicates that the police are interviewing a person of interest. Under Kentucky law, Terroristic Threatening is a class A misdemeanor:
508.080 Terroristic threatening in the third degree.
(1) Except as provided in KRS 508.075 or 508.078, a person is guilty of terroristic threatening in the third degree when:
(a) He threatens to commit any crime likely to result in death or serious physical injury to another person or likely to result in substantial property damage to another person; or
(b) He intentionally makes false statements for the purpose of causing evacuation of a building, place of assembly, or facility of public transportation.
(2) Terroristic threatening in the third degree is a Class A misdemeanor.
Following last night’s announcement of a Ferguson, Missouri, grand jury decision to return a “no true bill” on each of the five indictments – meaning that officer Darren Wilson will not go to trial for the shooting of Michael Brown – demonstrations were seen in Ferguson and many of the nation’s larger cities.
Although St. Louis Prosecutor Bob McCulloch spent more than 45 minutes in a press conference explaining that the grand jury saw all available evidence – including more than 70 hours of testimony from about 60 witness (including those witnesses who contradicted the evidence or each other) -and made their own decision, many of the demonstrators claimed that justice had not been served. Despite calls for peace from police, Brown’s family, and even the president, demonstrations quickly turned violent as protesters taunted the police, broke windows, looted businesses, and set fire to vehicles and buildings, leaving much of Ferguson smoldering this morning.
A Tumblr webpage called Ferguson National Response Network claims to have compiled a “Listing of planned responses to the Darren Wilson Grand Jury Annoouncement“, with Louisville and Lexington being among the planned demonstration cities. The website indicates that a demonstration will take place in downtown Louisville at the LMPD headquarters at 7th & Jefferson at 5pm the day after the announcement (today). Demonstrations are also planned in Lexington on the 200 block of Limestone at 6pm the day after the announcement (today).
Given the events that unfolded in Ferguson following the announcement, these planned activities may some Louisvillians worried. However, one LMPD officer with whom a Louisville Dispatch editor spoke said that they did not anticipate anything happening, but suggested that citizens may want to begin avoiding the area at 3pm if they are concerned.
LMPD officials have released their safety plans for the Oaks and Derby Day events. LMPD representatives say that they will be working in conjunction with local and federal groups to ensure that Louisvillians and visitors remain safe during the city’s Kentucky Derby Festival events, at Oaks and Derby at Churchill Downs and throughout Louisville as hundreds of thousands gallop into town to watch the race live or at Derby parties.
In addition to increased police patrols, LMPD will be coordinating sobriety checkpoints and modified traffic patterns to keep the roadways safe and flowing efficiently. For a list of street closures and no-parking areas during the Pegasus Parade, Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby, visit the LMPD Kentucky Derby Festival Information page. To further keep roadways safe during all of the racing celebrations, Miller Lite is sponsoring free rides on TARC buses from 6 PM Friday night until 1AM for those needing a designated driver.
Officials will also be making use of cameras along the parade route to monitor the crowd. Additionally, LMPD is advising those in attendance “if you see something, say something.”
If you plan on heading to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Oaks or Kentucky Derby, you should be aware of what you can and cannot take into the venue. Lists of permitted and prohibited items are available on the Kentucky Derby website. A list of permitted and prohibited items is also available on Official Churchill Downs Partner Derby Experiences website, although visitors should be aware that there are some conflicts between the two lists – specifically, on the rules regarding coolers. Louisville Dispatch staff reached out to the Kentucky Derby communications office and confirmed that the Derby Experiences website has an outdated list that that visitors should adhere to the list below, directly from the Kentucky Derby site: Continue reading
Warmer weather means new gardens, the return of birds, baseball season, and door-to-door solicitors. Unfortunately, not all door-to-door solicitors are trying to save you money, some may be out to scam you. According to the AARP, people age 60 and above are at a higher risk to be victims of door-to-door scams. This demographics is at a higher risk because retired people are more likely to be home during the day when solicitors are making their rounds, may be less likely to slam the door in a solicitors face and less likely to report the crime. Door-to-door solicitors offer a variety of goods and services, including magazine subscriptions, food, energy audits, home and property maintenance, and charity donations. The list goes on.
Not all solicitors are up to no good and there are a number of things that residents can do to protect themselves. Many door-to-door scam artists exhibit behavior that can tip you off. Some things you should look for include, but not limited to, the seller becoming aggressive when you say no; asking to use the bathroom or telephone; not offering a receipt for purchases; not charging sales tax for goods or charging a higher-than-normal sales tax. If the solicitor states that the money will be going to a charity, the claim can be verified against a list of all of registered charities maintained by the state Attorney General. The USDA recommends the following guidelines if purchasing meat or other food: ask for a brochure of the company; check to see if the vehicle has refrigeration; check the labels of the meat; ask to see the sales permit; and ask where the meat was inspected.
Louisville Metro Police Department offers an Continue reading
Credit: LMPD
Louisville Metro Government has updated their online crime map to now show crimes that take place within the city’s parks.
Previously, crimes committed within parks were reported with the location given by GPS coordinates. Unfortunately, however, the crime map accepted only physical address. As a result of this map limitation, crimes in parks were displayed as having occurred in a parking lot at 5th and Liberty streets, the geographic coordinate for “The City of Louisville.”
According to the Metro Government’s news release, this change stems from questions that arose after the recent crimes that started in Waterfront Park and moved into parts of downtown. The city’s maps show Part I FBI crimes — the most serious charges that includes homicides, auto theft, assaults, vandalism and robbery. Although the map now displays crime locations more accurately than they were before upgrade, due to the large area covered by the parks, crimes will show as a single pin at the park’s address. To see all crimes from a given park, users should click on the pin within that park.
The Metro Crime Maps page is here.
An email from LMPD Deputy Chief Yvette Gentry expresses concerns over increasing violent activity around Waterfront Park in downtown Louisville:
Over the past few months, violence has been an issue that has left numerous law abiding citizens victimized, some with moderate to serious injuries.
The kids we are finding involved are as young as 11 years old out without purpose or supervision. Some groups involve upwards of 30 kids that otherwise may be decent but take on the personality and mentality of the leaders that have every intention of taking part in criminal activity.
The major concern is that someone is going to get killed during an incident. That someone could be a very young child that is involved.
This talk of past concern seems to fly in the face of Mayor Greg Fisher and LMPD Chief Steve Conrad’s statements indicating that last Saturday’s violence, now gaining national attention, was an isolated incident. Former legal counsel to LMPD, Attorney Thomas McAdam, suggests that there was even an informal directive to cover up crime in the downtown area – begging the question of whether the 21 crimes reported in the last three months at Waterfront Park could actually be a higher number.
Gentry’s email goes on to detail problematic locations for such activity that include Waterfront Park, the Big Four Bridge, and stretches of several downtown streets including 1st Street, Broadway and Dixie Highway. Gentry warns that the behavior often targets people walking alone or in small groups, TARC passengers and patrons of restaurants and gas stations in problem areas with the violent and destructive behavior peaking between dusk and 1AM, especially on the weekends.
