Louisville Police Seeking Man Who Punched Mayor

Greg Fischer was assaulted at a public event over the weekend
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 21, 2022 6:57 AM CDT

Police are searching for a different kind of Louisville slugger after a suspect was captured on video punching the mayor of Kentucky's largest city on Saturday. Greg Fischer was mingling in a crowd at a Juneteenth event at the Fourth Street Live! entertainment complex when a man walked up with his right fist cocked and punched him "in the upper chest or throat," causing Fischer to fall to the ground, reports WDRB. Surveillance footage shows another man briefly following the suspect before returning to check on Fischer, who did not require medical attention. "You know occasionally in life things happen," the Democrat mayor told WLKY. "You get knocked down. You gotta get back up and keep going."

Jessica Wethington, director of communications for the mayor's office, did not say how the suspect managed to get past Fischer's security detail and eventually escape. "While it's not appropriate to comment on specifics of that detail, it is always being evaluated and adjusted as needed," she said, per WLKY, adding "there have been no changes made to the mayor's events." Police have released several photos of the man at the event as well as walking in downtown. The Washington Post notes that the attack comes about four months after a gunman opened fire on the campaign office of another local Democrat, Craig Greenberg, who is running to replace the outgoing Fischer. (More Louisville stories.)

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