7 people injured after 3 shootings, violent home invasion Thursday in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It was a violent Thursday in Louisville, with multiple shootings and an armed robbery just hours apart.

Six people were shot, and another person was pistol whipped and robbed. The violence spanned across the city from west Louisville to east Louisville.

The first violent incident happened around 4 p.m. in the 2100 block of Gardiner Lane near Bardstown Road. Louisville Metro Police said a woman was beaten in the head with a pistol during a home invasion before the suspect stole her handicap-accessible vehicle. The victim told officers a man forced his way into her home, took his weapon and hit her in the head. Police said the suspect then stole several items from the home before grabbing the keys to her vehicle.

The victim was able to call 911 from a neighbor's house. LMPD officers spotted the vehicle on Campbell Street in downtown Louisville and tried to pull it over, but the driver crashed it into a utility pole. Police said they have a person of interest in custody.

WDRB News spoke with the victim, who declined an interview, but said she was happy that LMPD was able to make an arrest.

Not long after the first incident, around 4:30 p.m., a teenage girl was injured in a drive-by shooting near Algonquin Parkway. She was taken to University of Louisville Hospital to be treated. Police are still searching for suspects.

Then, around 7 p.m., officers responded to a shooting in the 5000 block of East Indian Trail at Petersburg Park, in the Newburg neighborhood. That's where two people were found with gunshot wounds and taken to University Hospital. As the investigation continued, two other gunshot victims from the park showed up at the hospital in personal vehicles. All four are expected to survive, police said.

"I must've heard like 7-10 (gunshots)," said a man who was in the park at the time of the shooting but didn't want to be identified.

People who lived nearby said they're worried that violence is becoming commonplace.

"There's residents that live here that don't feel safe," David Holt said. "This community shouldn't have to deal with that. They should not."

At 10:30 p.m. Thursday, LMPD said another woman was shot in the east end of Louisville. Police said it happened on Westport Wood Lane. The woman is expected to survive, and police are still looking for suspects.

LMPD hasn't responded to a request for comment.

If you have information on any of the cases above you're asked to call the LMPD crime tip line at 502-574-LMPD. All calls are anonymous.

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