Breonna Taylor

Their life

Breonna Taylor was a 26-year-old African American woman born on June 5, 1993, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. She worked as an emergency medical technician (EMT) and aspired to become a nurse. Described by family and friends as hardworking, compassionate, and full of life, Taylor was dedicated to helping others and had a strong presence in her community. She lived in Louisville with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, at the time of her death. Her life was tragically cut short during a police raid, which later became a focal point in national conversations about racial injustice, police accountability, and systemic reform in the United States.

Breonna Shaquille Taylor was born on June 5, 1993, and grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. She attended Western High School and later studied at the University of Kentucky and Jefferson Community and Technical College. Taylor worked as an emergency room technician at two Louisville-area hospitals, where she was known for her commitment to caring for others. She was deeply family-oriented, close to her mother, Tamika Palmer, and had dreams of advancing her career in healthcare. Taylor had no criminal record and was not the subject of the investigation that led police to her apartment. Despite her private, everyday life, she became a symbol of injustice following her death, which ignited protests and led to widespread demands for police reform. Her name has since become a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement and efforts to end no-knock warrants and police brutality.

How they died

Breonna Taylor died from gunshot wounds sustained during a police raid on her home.

In the early morning hours of March 13, 2020, plainclothes Louisville Metro Police officers executed a "no-knock" search warrant at Breonna Taylor’s apartment as part of a narcotics investigation. Believing intruders were breaking in, her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired one shot, hitting an officer in the leg. In response, officers fired 32 rounds into the apartment. Taylor was hit multiple times and died at the scene. She received no immediate medical attention. Although she was not the target of the investigation and no drugs were found in her home, she was fatally caught in the gunfire. Her death was officially ruled a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Breonna Taylor, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources