LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville community is voicing safety concerns following a string of shootings on the Watterson Expressway over the weekend.
In a span of four nights, starting Thursday, Sept. 15, police responded to three different shootings along the heavily-traveled interstate in Louisville which left one man dead and another in critical condition.
The most recent incident came Sunday evening when officers responded to I-264 East, near the Southern Parkway ramp. Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) says all people involved have been accounted for, but as of Monday evening, they haven't made arrests.
"It's a rough weekend for the community, it's a rough weekend for LMPD," Major Matt Meagher said Sunday. "I just think if we as people could learn how to resolve our problems without resorting to violence, that would help tremendously. So, conflict resolution is something we really need to educate ourselves on."
St. Matthews Chief of Police, and former lead detective at LMPD's Homicide Unit, Barry Wilkerson said Monday he's concerned.
"To have that many in this short a time is a little bit different in my experience working homicides," he said. "You might have one or two a year, [but] this does seem a little odd."
Wilkerson made it clear his department is not at all involved in these investigations, but given his experience as a detective, he went as far as to say roadway shootings are typically targeted incidents -- in some way, shape or form. He included instances of road rage in that category.
"Very few are random, at all," he said.
On Sunday, Maj. Meagher wouldn't say whether the most recent Watterson shooting was targeted, citing it was too early in the investigation.
Meanwhile, Wilkerson says these cases are not necessarily harder to solve, instead saying it's a shortage of officers within LMPD that can slow the process down as they work to keep up with rising violence levels.
"I'd say anytime you have a shooting, you need to be concerned, especially on an interstate you're passing by," Wilkerson said. "In road rage situations, if you're involved, obviously avoid the conflict if possible."
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