2 dead, 1 injured following Sunday morning shooting on Baxter Avenue in the Highlands

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Two men were shot and killed and a third was hospitalized early Sunday morning on Baxter Avenue in the Highlands outside a popular strip of late-night bars and restaurants.

Louisville Metro Police spokesperson John Bradley said officers responded to the 900 block of Baxter Avenue, between Highland Avenue and Broadway, around 1:45 a.m. Sunday on the report of shots fired. Officers arrived on scene to find one man shot and killed.

A second man was located nearby and transported by EMS to UofL Hospital, where he also died.

A third man arrived by private vehicle to Norton Women and Children's Hospital, but he's expected to survive.

LMPD's Homicide Unit is investigating the triple shooting. Police haven't revealed exactly what led up to the shootings, but officers blocked off a large stretch of Baxter Avenue early Sunday morning from O'Shea's Irish Pub to Baxter's 942 Bar & Grill.

People in the area posted on social media that they were "terrified." Hundreds of people ran from the area when they heard the shots fired, witnesses said.

Gerald Talbot was at Baxter's when the shooting happened.

"Everybody started running for the door," Talbot said. "That's where it encountered me. And I'm like 'what's going on?'"

Talbot moved to Louisville two months ago and wanted to experience the Highlands' night life.

"I spent a couple hours there, walked from the patio and I'd say about 10 seconds later, I see people running," Talbot said.

He said the shooting happened near around Baxter's patio.

"Somebody yelled out, there's somebody shooting," Talbot said. "So instantly I jumped to the ground, like I'm going to get low."

An employee at a nearby business told WDRB News that the shooting happened out on Baxter Avenue in between T-Mobile and Pataya.

LMPD has not clarified where the shooting happened.

Police haven't revealed what led up to the shooting.

"This is likely gang-related," Louisville Metro Council member Ben Reno-Weber said. "I've been in contact with LMPD, with ABC. We are not going to continue to tolerate a culture of violence here."

LMPD said there are no known suspects. Anyone with information in this or any other case is asked to call LMPD's anonymous Crime Tip Line at 502-574-LMPD (5673). Tips can also be submitted anonymously online through the LMPD Crime Tip Portal by clicking here.

The Original Highlands Neighborhood Association plans on hosting a meeting later this month to discuss the gun violence occurring in the Highlands.

Earlier this year, another homicide took place on Bardstown Road near Baxter Avenue.

On March 3, at around 3:30 a.m., 21-year-old Theodore Brown was found dead inside of Café 360 on Bardstown Road.

Four days later, Café 360 voluntarily gave up its' extended liquor license for six months.

In 2023, a shooting behind one of the bars at 3 a.m. also killed a person and left two others wounded.

Nearly a year later, this past month, Louisville's Alcoholic Beverage Control said Afrokanza Lounge voluntarily closed after multiple violations with Louisville Metro ABC.

Residents of the Highlands continue to voice concerns over the area's noise ordinances and liquor licenses to the city in hopes of stopping the area's gun violence.

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