Chaotic scene unfolded as 3 were shot and killed outside Kentucky driver's license office

Detectives with the Louisville Metro Crime Scene unit examines a scene of a deadly shooting outside a motor vehicle office in Louisville, Ky., Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Witnesses described a chaotic scene in which three people were shot and killed outside of a Kentucky driver’s license office, including one man shot multiple times by masked assailants.

The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office issued a statement late Friday identifying the victims from earlier in the day as ranging in age from 18 to 33 years old. Officers who responded around noon Friday found one man dead at the scene and two wounded women, who later died after being taken to a hospital, according to Louisville Metro Police Department.

The coroner’s statement said that the man, 18-year-old Leslye M. Harbin Jr., died of multiple gunshot wounds at the scene, while the two women, 33-year-old Antwanette Chillers and 29-year-old Raysa Pacios Valdes, each died of a gunshot wound at a hospital.

Authorities have not said whether the victims knew each other or knew whoever was responsible for the shooting.

Witnesses said the chaos unfolded at the busy office, which had a line out the door. Jalen Eddings told WHAS-TV that he had gone to the office but went back to his car to wait out the long line when the shooting unfolded nearby. He said two masked men shot the man multiple times, including as he lay on the ground, before they ran off. He said he didn’t see them fire at the women.

“Like I was just in shock, I couldn’t believe it, it was like something off of a movie,” Eddings said.

Numerous police responded to the shooting at a state Driver Licensing Office on the southern outskirts of Louisville. Police evidence markers were set on the ground around an area about 20 feet (about six meters) from the entrance to the building Friday afternoon.

Police Maj. Donald Boeckman said Friday that the shooter left in a vehicle. Boeckman did not have a description of the vehicle and said investigators were still reviewing surveillance video. The police department didn’t immediately respond to an email Saturday morning asking for updates on the search for suspects.

“It’s absolutely a tragedy, and I’m surprised there wasn’t more people injured,” Boeckman said.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear posted a statement on social media calling the shooting “a senseless act of violence.”

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, which operates the license office, said in a news release that security at the office locked down the building quickly after the shooting and that none of its employees were harmed.

Another witness, Ali Raza, told WHAS that he was inside the office when he “suddenly heard a lot of shots and the people were screaming.”

He said that a security guard inside worked quickly by telling them to get on the ground.

“He told us to go back and get on the ground. He saved us basically,” he said.

Dylan Lovan, The Associated Press