One of two Louisville police officers shot during a protest last week is back at work. Major Aubrey Gregory was shot in the hip as he responded to a protest over a grand jury's decision to indict just one of the officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor.

Gregory said that when he arrived at the scene, he heard about a dozen shots. He tried to locate the shooter as the crowd of about one hundred people began to flee. It wasn't until the shooting stopped that Gregory realized he had been shot.

"And then the gunfire stopped, I put my hood back, took my hand off my gun, and then I realized that my hip was on fire," Gregory said in his first public comments since the shooting.

He looked down and realized he had been been struck by a bullet. Luckily, his injuries were not severe, and he was released from the hospital the following day. Gregory said he is thankful he was able to return home and see his children.

"I'll never forget what it was like stepping through my front door and hugging my kids and crying with them and trying to support them and be there for them," Gregory said. "They don't understand. I was blessed and continue to be blessed to try and help them through that and be there for them."

Gregory returned to light duty on Monday and hopes to get back to active duty in the coming weeks. The other officer who was shot, Second Division Officer Robinson Desroches, remains hospitalized and has a long road to recovery.

"He's in a lot of pain — a lot of pain," Gregory said. "And it's going to be that way for a while."

Officials have charged the suspected shooter, Larynzo Johnson, with two counts of first-degree assault of a police officer and 14 counts of wanton endangerment of a police officer.

Photo: Louisville Metro Police Department

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