Husband shot trying to help wife during carjacking in Middletown remains in serious condition

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A man shot Tuesday trying to help his wife as she was being carjacked in eastern Jefferson County remains in serious condition, according to Louisville Metro Police.

The carjacking happened about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on at the Brookview Apartments in Middletown on Echelon Way, just west of the intersection of North English Station and Aiken roads.

LMPD Spokesperson Officer Beth Ruoff said a woman was getting out of her vehicle in the parking lot when she was approached by a group of male suspects who attacked her and took her keys. When the woman screamed, her husband rushed to help and was shot by the suspects. The suspects then drove away in the stolen vehicle.

Ruoff said the husband was taken to University of Louisville Hospital.

A neighbor who heard the gunshots said he shouted to his wife to call police after he saw what had happened.

"I heard bang, bang, bang," Kevin Portale said. "I ran downstairs real quick and opened the door and I heard a young lady screaming, 'Help! Help!' When I got up there, there was a gentleman laying in the doorway. You could tell he had been shot. There was blood."

Portale said it likely could have been his wife who was targeted if it had happened only minutes earlier.

"My wife had, just 10 minutes before, been out here," he said. "I was helping her with the groceries. It could have been her if it was 10 minutes earlier. It just seems like it's happening all over now. It's just not one area. It could be just like it was, our next door neighbor."

While it was the first time Portale said he heard gunshots in his neighborhood, it's not the first time for crime.

"About 10 days ago, our license plate was taken off our car. We got a report from Middletown Police," Portale said, adding that when he filed the report, officers told him there had been a few cars stolen recently in the area.

Fellow neighbor Grant Leneave said he now is being extra cautious when pulling up to his apartment.

"I was just shocked because I know it's been happening a lot around Louisville," he said. "I'll definitely make sure I look around before I get out of my car and lock the doors."

Leneave lives nearby and said he has had a few conversations with the man who was shot.

"When I first moved in, they came and greeted me, and that was really nice," he said. "So I knew they were a really nice couple right off the bat. It's a really good community, really nice people."

The Middletown Police Department initially responded to the case. Ruoff said LMPD's Robbery Unit is now handling the investigation.

Police have not released information about any possible suspects.