LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) – After a very violent week in Louisville with multiple shooting deaths, many of those victims’ family members and friends are organizing tributes and memorials in their honor.
On Sunday alone, three victims were honored at two different vigils. The first one happened in Shelby Park to honor Larry Brewer III and Cameron Pugh, who were both shot on South Hancock Street on Thursday. Pugh, 18, died at the scene. Brewer III, 22, died a day later at the hospital. The victims’ families said the two were very close friends. Losing them together makes this time even more difficult. They said they are just praying no other families have to go through the same pain.
“I hope that everybody can find peace because an eye for an eye is just going to leave everybody blind,” Brewer’s cousin Janaysha Taylor said. “The whole city is grieving. The whole year has been crazy.”
“This shouldn’t be happening. Life is supposed to be long. You’re supposed to have longevity. It just shouldn’t be happening,” Pugh’s cousin Kristopher Pugh said. “We’ll have another balloon release next week if this continues to happen. It has to stop.”
A heavy police presence surrounded Shelby Park as the victims’ loved ones shared their favorite memories and what they’ll miss most.
“All of the smiles and laughs and memories, the way he used to joke and laugh,” Taylor said. “He was quiet, fun, loving, sensitive, and crazy at the same time. He loved everybody.”
“He was always the kid that said off the wall stuff that kept us laughing. He always had a smile on his face,” Pugh said.
Both Taylor and Pugh said there is so much pain right now, but seeing the showing of support at the vigil helps them heal.
“It means a lot that they were loved like this,” Taylor said.
“It was hard to take at first because with me being the oldest, you just don’t want to believe it because you won’t to believe that you go before them but it just hurts,” Pugh said. “It was a blessing. I was glad to see all of Cameron’s loved one’s out here, showing their appreciation to the family. It’s just real hard. It just gives me hope, hope that everything is going to be okay. I’m going to miss him. It’s just tough.”
Right after the first vigil, dozens of Pugh’s and Brewer’s family and friends walked about a block down to another vigil. This one was for the shooting victim killed on Tuesday on Camp Street. The victim was identified by his family as Jordan New. They said he was 23-years-old and had a 7-year-old daughter. He was later identified as Jordan New by the coroner's office.
“He was a very caring person. He’d do anything for anybody, take the shirt off his back to give to somebody. Anytime anybody in the whole neighborhood needed something, Jordan was there to give it to him,” New’s brother Shawn Pew said.
New was killed on his brother Shawn’s birthday. He also is calling for a stop to the violence, but feels like he has to carry a gun now to protect himself and his family.
“I carry because it happened at home. It hit my doorstep. I can’t take the chance. I feel bad I wasn’t there to protect my brother,” New said. “Put the guns down. There’s other ways to solve these problems, and violence ain’t it.”
Funerals for all three of the victims are scheduled for Tuesday.
Pugh’s family has set up a GoFundMe account to help with funeral expenses. Here is a link: