LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Homicides, auto thefts and drugs. Those who live in the Highlands say they're concerned about what's happening on their streets.

Bardstown Road is a corner of Louisville known for great restaurants, cool shops and an urban feel, but those who call the neighborhood home are up in arms about the increase of violence they're seeing.

It was a packed house at Mid City Mall Monday night, the location of one of several fatal shootings just this month. Neighbors gathered to say they've had enough.

"Most of the problems happening in this area, they're stemming from certain bars," said neighbor Leslie McCabe. "Everybody knows it."

The Metro Council District 8 Advisory Committee acknowledges a rough start to 2023, even though the area saw a decrease in violent crime last year.

"The Highlands, as you can tell, is full of people that care about their neighborhood, and it's concerning that we started out not the way we wanted to," said Lt. Rob King, with the Louisville Metro Police Department's 5th Division.

Rob Riley, who lives in Bonnycastle, said that's why they gathered on Monday.

"There were three shootings, that's a concern," Riley said.

On Jan. 2, a man was shot and killed near Mid City Mall. Two weeks ago, another person was killed near the Wick's Pizza on Baxter Avenue. Then, last Thursday, a man was shot and killed in the Irish Hill neighborhood off Bardstown Road.

LMPD's 5th Division reports auto thefts are up 70% from a year ago, and neighbors said they're seeing an ever present drug problem.

"Come out on a Friday and Saturday night on Bardstown Road, the main entertainment corridor ... It's criminality after criminality," said McCabe when asked what she's seeing happen in her neighborhood. "It's like Mardi Gras in New Orleans."

Many neighbors voicing their frustrations want more action after meetings like the one held Monday evening. 

"I think the main thing is letting folks know the infrastructure that's in place," said Metro Councilwoman Cassie Chambers Armstrong, a Democrat who represents the city's eighth District, which includes the Highlands. "And then the next step is solving these problems together."

This while facing the reality of an officer shortage at LMPD.

King said residents should call 911 if they're in need for a "short-term solution," and Metro 311 if they have a "long-term issue with some of the bars" so LMPD can "work on some of those complaints long-term."

"What the city needs to understand is, this is one of the largest tax bases and entertainment districts in the city, and they're basically sacrificing all of us as residents who've made this area great by letting all this crime continue," said McCabe.

Businesses in the area have been trying to help residents and visitors feel safe. Aaron Givhan, president of the Highlands Commerce Guild, told WDRB News earlier this month that businesses along Bardstown Road and Baxter Avenue want to figure out the role they can play in public safety.

Givhan said different bars, restaurants and community members have come together within the last six months in an open meeting and are working to put together a manual for businesses to reference. He also said many had taken it upon themselves to hire security.

Anyone with information on any shooting in the city is asked to call LMPD's anonymous crime tip line at (502) 574-LMPD (5673). Tips can also be submitted anonymously online through the department's crime tip portal by clicking here.

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