LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bogged down by indescribable grief, people filled the pews inside Bates Memorial Baptist Church, for another year of honoring the lives lost to senseless violence in Louisville.
Advocates, leaders and families of victims came together to memorialize those lost in 2023 by reading off, one-by-one, the names of all 150 people, and placing a candle on a platform in their honor.
Linkin’ Bridge, a Louisville acapella musical group, also performed in honor of their former bandmate, Jeremiah "Ekoe" Buckner, who someone shot and killed in January of 2023.
"Like I said [during] his passing, my brother was a warrior," Jason Buckner said. "And so we come here today, we come here with a level of strength from the standpoint of trying to make sure that the very things that may have caused his death."
The year 2023 brought seven fewer homicides than 2022. Compared to 2021, homicides have dropped 16%.
"But let me be clear, it is not going down fast enough," Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, a gun violence survivor, said. "We are still losing far too many people to gun violence. And so as a city, we have to do more. And we all need to know there's a lot to be done."
Watch Louisville's annual Night of Remembrance below:
Among the support for law enforcement was a note of criticism from Nachand Trabue, who lost her son in July. She said after her experience with Louisville Metro Police's (LMPD) homicide unit, there needs to be better communication going forward.
"My sergeant said that, if you want the basic information about your son, you're gonna have to fill out an open records request," she said. "I have to rehash the feelings and open up [an] open records request in the middle of the holiday."
According to Trabue, she asked for information regarding which number homicide – out of the 150 homicides in 2023 – her son was at the time he died in July. She said per LMPD's Standard Operating Procedures, the sergeant advised her she'd have to file an open records request to get that information.
WHAS11 News reached out to an LMPD spokesperson for a statement in response to what Trabue said but haven't heard back at this time.
After the meeting, WHAS11 News observed LMPD Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel and Deputy Chief Steve Healey speak with Trabue, taking notes of what she was telling them.
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