LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The second victim in a double murder that set off a SWAT situation last week has been identified.
The coroner says 16-year-old Osman Omor died of gunshot wounds at the scene in the one thousand block of South Jackson Street a little after 4:30 in the morning on Friday.
Another victim, 25-year-old Tela Harvey, also died in the early morning shooting, and a woman was wounded -- her injuries weren't considered life-threatening.
The SWAT team was called to the scene.
Hours later, 24-year-old Ricardo Taylor was arrested and charged with murder, kidnapping, and other offenses.
It started when police responded to a report of shots fired at an apartment at St. Catherine and Jackson Street around 11:30 Thursday night.
The hostage negotiation team spent hours
trying to resolve the situation, but talks broke down early Friday and
officers heard gunshots. Shortly after that members of the SWAT team
fired tear gas. After a man and woman rushed out, police stormed the
apartment and found the bodies of two adults -- Osman Omor and Tela Harvey.
"At this point, the investigation is still
ongoing," said LMPD spokeswoman Alicia Smiley said Friday morning. "In
fact, it's being turned over to our homicide unit. Our officers did not
discharge their weapons at all during this incident. We still have a lot
of details to sort through and hopefully we'll have more information as
it becomes available."
The coroner says Harvey died at the scene of
multiple gunshot wounds. A cause of death has not yet been released on
the other victim found in the apartment with Harvey.
A woman was taken to University Hospital for treatment for a gunshot wound that is not considered life-threatening.
A friend of Taylor says he wish he would have
known his friend was in trouble when he saw him earlier this week.
"If I could've been here it wouldn't have happened," said Diontray
Jackson. "I would've talked him out of it. I would've let him know your
life is more important than this right here."
During the standoff, police shut down about
four blocks in Smoketown near the residence and people were evacuated
from their homes. A TARC bus was brought in overnight to provide a place
for people to take shelter while waiting to get back into their homes.
Some people couldn't re-enter their residences until the fumes from the
tear gas dissipated.
Police are looking into reports that Taylor was holding people at gunpoint just before the shooting.
Police say it is unclear why Taylor shot the victims, or if he knew them.
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Ricardo Taylor (Source: Louisville Metro Corrections)
Victim: Tela Harvey
