Louisville homicides reach 56 following weekend gun violence

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) - There are 15 more homicides in 2020 than there were at this point in 2019, and that number compares to some of Louisville's deadliest years in terms of gun violence.

According to the Louisville Metro Police Department, 56 homicides have happened in Louisville as of Monday. There have also been 219 criminal shootings.

The numbers jumped after a surge in gun violence over the last 48 hours in Louisville. Two people were killed by gunfire and six others were injured.

It began just after midnight Sunday when a man and two women were found with gunshot wounds in the 4100 block of West Market Street. The women were treated for their injuries, but the man died.

Shortly after, around 1 a.m., three people were found shot at 29th and W. Kentucky streets. They were all treated for non-life threatening injuries, police say.

Hours later, at 11 a.m. Sunday, police responded to the Park Duvalle neighborhood where 48-year-old Adrian Deron Garner had been shot. He was taken to University Hospital where he died.

It didn't end there. Monday morning around 11 a.m. LMPD responded to another shooting. They found a man who had been shot on South 16th Street. He was taken to the hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries.

"This is becoming, unfortunately, normal for the city of Louisville, which it should not be," said Metro Council President David James.

James noted that the numbers for homicides in the city are staggering. He and community activists like Christopher 2X are aware that homicide numbers continue to grow even during a pandemic and protests for racial equality around the city.

Even those unique circumstances didn't stop the gun violence.

"It doesn't seem to take a pause at all under COVID-19, under the social justice awareness efforts and unrest, and it seems like there's no pause button even with these big events," 2X said.

Councilman James says he believes it's largely connected to poor leadership at LMPD.

"This is Louisville," he said. "I think we've had ineffective police leadership on our police department for quite some years, and I think this is a result of that."

As numbers continue to climb, setting Louisville on a pace that matches its deadliest year in 2016, community leaders and activists hold out hope that the number will stop the gradual incline.

"It's breaking my heart that these street shootings are still occurring under a climate where we thought we could really rally together," 2X said.

"A lot of the violence we see is related to lack of opportunities, a lack of jobs, poverty, and I think those are some of the areas we also have to address," James added.