LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) – It started as a game of dice, shots were fired and a little boy was killed by a stray bullet at his kitchen table. It’s been one year since 7-year-old DeQuante Hobbs was killed in the Russell neighborhood.
"I don't know if I'll ever have closure," DQ’s Grandmother Tonya Gough said.
The little boy’s family celebrated his life over the weekend. For them, time moves slowly without DeQuante's smile.
But for city leaders, it’s been 12 months of work after many agencies promised to make changes after that horrific shooting.
Gena Harris said, "That's not something you want to hear happening in your community."
Harris leads the Office of Resilience and Community services. She said her office focuses on families. Over the past year, they've taken their efforts to the streets.
"We go out into the community, and again that's boots on the ground, going out into the community, showing them the love of Louisville Metro Government," Harris said.
The agency continued work through several different programs including “Building Blocks” and “One Love Louisville.”
For the Office of Safe and Healthy neighborhoods its more of the same. The office introduced a new initiative called "Cure Violence," after DQ’s death.
Director Rashaad Abdur-Rahman said, "it focuses on identifying authentic, credible messengers from the community who can identify individuals that are at high risk of engaging in a shooting or homicide and then interrupting that violence before it happens."
The agency also focuses on stopping youth violence and encouraging youth leaders in the community.
For most Metro offices the response to DeQuante's death was horror and shame.
Now the hope is the Metro is moving the right direction.
As for his family, they too are trying to move forward.
"It’s not going to ever go away. It’s not. We're at peace, but it’s not going to ever go away," Priscilla Norment, DQ's Grandmother, said.
►Contact reporter Shay McAlister at smcalister@whas11.com. Follow her on Twitter (@WHAS11Shay) and Facebook.