Ongoing violence causing more pain for grieving Louisville families

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It was another violent weekend in Metro Louisville as police responded to nearly a dozen shootings, two of them fatal.

All of the violence has been a painful reminder for some grieving families.

"Every month, since it happened, on the 6th, I just feel like my body is just about to shutdown, so I know, that very next day will be the 7th," Nicole Cowherd, who lost her son to violence, said.

Sunday is a painful day on the calendar for Cowherd.

On Jan. 7, Cowherd's son, 18-year old Richard Harper, was shot at his school bus stop and rushed to University Hospital.

"Never in a million years did I thought them doctors was going to tell me that my son didn't make it," Cowherd said.

The Valley High School senior died at the hospital. Since then, his parents have received his high school diploma, but they're still waiting for an arrest and answers.

"It puts you in a very, very, very dark place on top of losing your child," Cowherd said.

Since her son's murder, there have been more than 160 shootings -- at least 50 of them fatal.

"It takes me back to that day when the doctors told me and his father that, 'your son didn't make it,'" she said.

Cowherd says she doesn't know the recent victims or the families, but does know their pain.

"And I see the mothers crying on TV and I see, I know that pain and I know what they're about to be up against. It's a pain that you don't want to wish on nobody."

From community policing to shot-spotter technology, the city has tried different approaches to end the violence.

"It didn't happen over night and it was contributing factors, systemic factors that are contributed to it escalating," said Rev. Clay Calloway, co-host of Saturday Morning Solutions.

Rev. Calloway is also the founder of the West Louisville Minister's Coalition, which addresses issues of economic injustice. Rev. Calloway believes the deadly trend is related to the lack of opportunity.

"Desperate people do desperate things. We tend to focus on the high crime, but we ignore that there's low opportunity," Rev. Calloway said.

Meanwhile, as Cowherd continues to wait for closure, she believes other factors are responsible for her loss.

"The killers got money ... you understand what I'm saying ... so, you not really seeking the opportunity of a job," Cowherd said.

If you have information about Richard Harper's death or any other shooting, you can call LMPD's anonymous crime tip line at 574-LMPD (5673).

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