LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two teens are in the hospital and one is dead after a shooting Sunday night in the Klondike neighborhood.
At about 11:30 p.m., Louisville Metro police responded to a shooting in the Guiding Light Islamic Center parking lot. "We urge everyone to remain calm, avoid speculation about the incident and let us be united during this difficult time," the GLIC board shared in a statement on Facebook. The board is also expanding the fence around the center.
Officers on scene found two teenage boys who had been shot in the parking lot. Both victims were taken to UofL Hospital. One victim died there while the second victim remains in critical condition, authorities say.
Shortly after, a third victim and also a teenage boy, was found five miles away in St. Matthews suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to UofL Hospital and remains in stable condition.
"I woke up this morning, turned on the news, and it's one of the first things... I hate it when it comes into my neighborhood, but what can you do about it?" nearby neighbor Ray Skaggs said. He understands the violence is an outlier, saying he didn't feel unsafe.
Kenneth Forbes, who lost his own son to gun violence in 2012 and helps other parents working through the grief, has a solution.
"And it's not about policing and locking our kids away. It's about being responsible on social media, to make sure we're still loving on our kids and encouraging our kids to be great," Forbes said.
As the founding dad of the Kentucky chapter of MOMS—Mothers of Murdered Sons and Daughters, he's available for counseling.
"More families have to step up and say, 'hey, I need help,'" he said.
That, he says, is the first step in stopping the violence before it happens. While MOMS handles grief, they also help resolve conflicts.
"Some of our shooting victims become angry," he said. That's where retaliation comes in and we have to just crowd ourselves around all victims and say, 'hey, there's a better way to handle these things.'"
A way that could stop one instance of violence from becoming a cycle of it.
LMPD's Homicide Unit is leading this investigation. As of Monday morning, no suspects were identified.
Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to call LMPD's anonymous tip line at (502) 574-5673 or utilize LMPD's Crime Tip Portal online.
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