Louisville mayor signs ordinance making random gunfire illegal in city

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It came as a shock to many in January to learn that randomly firing a gun in Louisville was not a crime.

But a new law will make it that way.

Mayor Greg Fischer signed the so-called "gun discharge" ordinance Thursday morning, making firing a gun randomly in the city illegal in most instances.

The plan was first unveiled by Democrats on Metro Council in January as a way to reduce gunfire throughout the city. Prior to the city-county merger in 2003, the city of Louisville had a similar ordinance in place.

According to the ordinance, MetroSafe received 5,756 calls about shots fired in 2021. And Louisville Metro Police said, in many cases, they have no method of punishing people responsible for the random shots.

A previous version of the ordinance was changed to say that it would only be illegal to fire a weapon within 300 feet of a road or alley. It will also be illegal to fire a weapon toward a building within 300 feet. The change was made from the original version that take into account rural areas of Jefferson County, according to Councilman Pat Mulvihill (D).

The Louisville Metro Police Department, for it's part, has been advocating for the ordinance since it was first introduced in January. Police Chief Erika Shields called the ordinance "another tool" to combat violent crime.

The ordinance would make shooting a gun randomly a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail.