Family of 69-year-old Caesars employee shot to death in Louisville begging for answers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Less than a week into the new year, there have already been seven homicides in Louisville.

The city's most recent victim was a 69-year-old Mitchell Eddings, who family members said was shot and killed early Friday morning as he was getting home from work.

They described him as the "glue" that held the family together.

Mitchell Eddings with his sisters, June Price and Helen Eddings. Photo provided by family.

"Mitchell is sort of like the heartbeat of our family," said Patricia Mathison, Eddings' niece.

Friday afternoon was a time of of mourning as Eddings' sisters, nieces and great nieces sat together, sharing tears and memories. His great-niece, Akisha Chandler, said he was the family's grill-master, handyman and mechanic.

"We have very limited men in our family so we kind of lean on them heavily because there are so few of them," said Mathison, sitting on a couch Friday with other women in her family, grieving this new loss.

"He has never done harm to anyone," said June Price, Eddings' sister. "If anything, he's going to help you instead of hurt you."

Family members gather after losing their loved one, Mitchell Eddings

Police said Eddings was shot to death around 1 a.m. Friday on South 26th Street. At this point in the investigation, Louisville Metro Police said there are no suspects.

"I was in my bedroom and I heard the first, like, two shots," said Norman Lewis, who lives a few houses down from Eddings. "By that time, my dogs were up. And then, after that, it was rapid gunfire, rapid gunfire."

Lewis said Eddings was a good man.

"I feel like he was one of those guys that would do anything for anybody," he said. "That's just the type of person he was."

Eddings' loved ones said they have no clue who killed him or why.

"This was totally, totally unexpected," Price said.

"He was just so much more than a homicide victim," Mathison said. "That's what I want the city of Louisville to know."

"You shot somebody's father, somebody's brother, somebody's uncle, somebody's everything," Price added. "You didn't care."

Price said Eddings worked for years in security at Caesars Southern Indiana Casino, and he was just getting home Friday morning when he was shot.

"He loved his job," she said.

Mathison said this is the first time her family has experienced a loss because of a homicide, and it's difficult to process.

"It's just something we don't expect in our family," she said.

Mathison said her family has proudly lived in west Louisville for years.

"We've always been a part of west Louisville," she said. "Yes, west Louisville has gotten really bad. It didn't use to be like this. But we still remained, because this is where our roots are. And we know that we're good people. We're not bad people. We're good people. We pay our taxes, we work and we raise our kids. That's what we're supposed to do and that's what he did."

Their plea, as homicides currently outnumber days of this new year, is for people to stop this deadly violence.

"Put these guns down," said Dionne Chandler, one of Eddings' great-nieces. "Seven homicides in six days is out of order. I don't care where you live."

"Everybody knows what their kids are into," Mathison added. "We know what our kids are doing. And if your child is a part of the problem, we got to start speaking up. Because today, it's my family. Tomorrow, it may be yours."

Eddings' oldest sister is in her 80s and doesn't drive anymore. Eddings was one of her main sources of transportation, another gap that's now left in this family.

Stephanie Price, Eddings' niece, described him as an honest, hard-working, family man who will be missed very much.

Earlier this week, the city's new mayor, Craig Greenberg, said during his first days in office he's already spent hours meeting with LMPD, talking about resources needed to help prevent crime.

"My biggest focus and my administration's biggest focus is on doing everything possible to reduce the amount of gun violence in our city," Greenberg said. "And there are going to be short-term things. There are going to be small initiatives and there are going to be large initiatives."

He called the growing number of homicides already in 2023 "horrific" and "unacceptable."

"It's heartbreaking," he said. "It's tragic. It really weighs heavily on me."

There are no suspects in the case. Anyone with information on this shooting is encouraged to call LMPD's anonymous Crime Tip line at 502-574-LMPD (5673) or utilize the anonymous Crime Tip portal at LMPD Crime Tip Portal.