Whitney Austin visits St. Stephen Church

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A woman who survived a mass shooting in 2018 wants to help Louisville crack down on gun violence.

"I was shot 12 times," said Whitney Austin, a Louisville native. "I thought that I was walking into work, like any other day, and I walked into a mass shooting."

On Sept. 6, 2018, Austin was one of five people shot at a Fifth Third Bank in downtown Cincinnati. Three people died.

"I started to resign myself to death, thinking about my family, and then, out of nowhere, the Cincinnati Police Department arrived and saved me," she said. "It was a miraculous situation."

Whitney Austin after shooting

Whitney Austin, left, was one of five people shot at a Fifth Third Bank in downtown Cincinnati on Sept. 6, 2018. 

Austin visited St. Stephen Church over the weekend with the goal of keeping others from becoming victims of gun violence. Louisville saw a record number of homicides and nonfatal shootings in 2020. 

Austin's nonprofit, Whitney Strong, trained church members on suicide prevention and gun safety.

"I try every day to pay that gift forward, that gift of survival," she said. "And one of the things we can do is go into communities and teach them how to prevent gun violence." 

A law enforcement officer was also on hand, showing people how to use gun locks.

"It's locked," said Charles, a retired deputy, demonstrating how to install a gun lock. "If the kids get it, they can't pull the trigger. There's no way you can shoot this."

A retired deputy, demonstrates how to install a gun lock

Charles, a retired deputy, demonstrates how to install a gun lock outside of St. Stephen Church on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, in Louisville, Ky. 

Austin said the locks are simple tools that can save lives. 

"They can prevent accidents," she added. "They can prevent suicide. They can actually prevent violent crimes, if we all do our jobs of safely storing our firearms." 

Austin is also pushing to change Kentucky law through Senate Bill 229, an effort to prevent suicide and mass violence. The proposed legislation would keep someone in crisis from having access to a firearm until getting the help they need.

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