Police arrest 18-year-old suspect in connection with fatal double shooting near Hikes Lane

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville man is charged with murder after a double shooting in the Hikes Lane area last Thursday night that left a 17-year-old student dead and another person seriously injured.

According to court documents, police responded to a report of a shooting around 9:15 p.m. on April 23 in the area of Hikes Lane and Downing Way. Shortly after that, police said two men with gunshot wounds showed up at Norton Audubon Hospital in a private vehicle.

One of the victims -- identified by the Jefferson County Coroner as 17-year-old Christopher Ward -- died at Norton Audubon Hospital. Officials with JCPS confirm that Ward was a student at Moore High School.

The second victim was transferred to University Hospital in serious condition.

Police questioned two passengers that were in the vehicle when the shooting happened. One witness told police they were in the area to buy narcotics from a person he didn't know. That witness said the homicide victim called the person to set up the deal, and that person and another unknown person were waiting when the four pulled up to buy the drugs.

The witness told police they decided they were going to "swipe" the narcotics, so they drove away without paying for them. The witness told police that's when the suspect, identified as 18-year-old Kameron Faircloth, reached into his pants before several shots were fired into the car, striking the victims, killing one and seriously injuring the other.

While interviewing other witnesses in the neighborhood, a person who lives on Downing Way said he saw someone he believed to be the shooter walking with a backpack toward a residence in the 3800 block of Downing Way.

Louisville Metro Police investigators learned that Faircloth lived at that residence and also fit the description given to police by the witness in the vehicle. That witness later positively identified the suspect from a photo pack. Police also said that Faircloth's mother called detectives to report her son had confessed to her that he was responsible for the shooting.

Faircloth was taken into custody late Sunday afternoon. He is charged with murder, assault and wanton endangerment.