McAtee fired first, Guardsmen fired shot that killed him: Brown

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) – One of two National Guardsmen fired the fatal shots that killed Louisville restaurant owner David McAtee early on the morning of June 1.

That is the conclusion so far of an independent investigation being conducted by the Kentucky State Police.

But the Guardsmen fired their M-4 rifles in response to shots first fired by McAtee, according to forensic analysis of bullets, shell casings and weapons recovered as part of the investigation, J. Michael Brown, secretary of the Executive Cabinet, said Tuesday during Gov. Andy Beshear’s daily briefing.

Brown is overseeing the investigation by the KSP’s Critical Response Unit.

The Guardsmen and Louisville Police officers responded to 26th and Broadway to help break up a crowd on a night of protests in Louisville. Investigators say McAtee fired two shots from a 9 mm handgun. Police and Guardsmen retreated and returned fire, Brown said.

“I believe it was Mister Mcatee because clearly in the other videos you’ve seen you look at the sound of the report and you can’t overlook the reaction of the people in the video itself. They are responding to shots coming from a given direction, they are all retreating. I believe Mister Mcatee fired the first shot, paused, and came back up as you see in another video and fired again,” Brown said, noting an eight-second delay between those two shots.

“Therefore it is our conclusion that Mister McAtee’s fatal wounds came from one of the M-4 A1 carbines carried by the National Guard,” Brown said, noting two Louisville officers fired shots but those shots did not hit McAtee.

So far, more than 300 people have been interviewed. Forensics experts also are piecing together a frame-by-frame video of the two minutes leading up to the shooting and immediately after. That will entail more than 3,000 video frames, Brown said, noting audio and other evidence still is being pieced together to try to present a “complete picture.”

Gunshot residue tests confirmed the 53-year-old McAtee had fired a weapon that night. His family has claimed he was only protecting his property and was wrongfully shot.