LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Louisville Metro Police Department plans to have extra patrols at Waterfront Park for the "foreseeable future" after a disturbance at the Big Four Bridge Monday evening. 

Three juveniles were arrested Monday after ongoing fights at the Big Four Bridge. LMPD said police responded to several fights at the park in downtown Louisville around 8 p.m. Police said a group of about 100 to 200 juveniles were involved the incident. 

Officers broke up the fights, but the crowd refused to disperse, causing police to shut down Waterfront Park and the Big Four Bridge. The park was cleared as additional officers were called, and officers remained at the park until it officially closed at 11 p.m. 

It's not clear what charges the juveniles are facing. 

According to city officials Maj. Shannon Lauder, the commander of the First Division, plans to have an "evening police presence at the park for the foreseeable future."

It's not the first time police have responded to trouble at the Big Four Bridge, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary of being open to pedestrians in February. 

Six juveniles were shot during an incident at the bridge in June 2022. At least one person was hospitalized after that shooting with critical injuries. About a week earlier, a 17-year-old was apparently shot in the shoulder while at the park. 

In 2017, four people were shot and one died at the bridge – a shooting police said was gang-related.

Another person was shot at the bridge, less than a year later in 2018, but survived.

Louisville Metro Council began considering adding more lights to parking lots across the riverfront at the end of the summer. The council did approve $21,000 to improve lighting at the park, and Waterfront Park officials tell us the lights have been installed in 75 percent of the parking lots. 

A destination spot for many locals and visitors, the Big Four Bridge was once a railroad bridge that sat unused for 45 years. 

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