Overview
- A SWAT operation to serve an arrest warrant ended on Thursday, May 14, when officers say 21‑year‑old Michael Hristov fired at a team and a police drone and was fatally shot by officer Beau Gadegaard.
- Hristov had been indicted on May 13 by a grand jury on charges of murder, abuse of a corpse and assault after investigators found blood from the December victim on his backpack.
- Police say investigators used phone pings, surveillance video, an IP address tied to a Reddit post, and an iCloud photo of a severed toe to link Hristov to the crimes.
- Authorities released graphic details that the December victim, Michael Howard, was mutilated with symbols carved into his body and that another homeless person survived a related stabbing.
- LMPD’s Public Integrity Unit is reviewing the shooting before forwarding the case to the Commonwealth’s Attorney, Kentucky State Police and the city inspector general, and homeless advocates are urging outreach and policy changes to protect unhoused people.