LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) – A “random robbery” led to the deadly shooting of a man Sunday evening in Cherokee Triangle, according to police.
Jason Spencer, 30, of Louisville was shot and killed in the 1200 block of Everett Avenue. A Louisville Metro Police Department spokesperson said Spencer was walking on a sidewalk with his wife when two teens confronted the couple.
Police said the brief altercation quickly erupted into gunfire. Spencer died at the scene from a single gunshot wound. His wife was not injured.
“All the sudden we heard what sounded like three quick shots and another quick thee shots,” recalled Steve Saurer, who lives nearby.
Minutes after the confrontation, LMPD officers found a 15-year-old suffering from a gunshot wound in the Park Hill neighborhood near 11th and Hill Streets. Detectives later determined the teen was one of two suspects in the Everett Avenue shooting. Police have the teen in custody as he undergoes treatment at University Hospital, but the second suspect is still at large.
“Things like that just don’t happen in this neighborhood so it’s very shocking,” neighbor Ashley Fallon said. “I️t’s very sad.”
Jason Spencer and his wife were newlyweds. Those close to the couple say they had just returned from their honeymoon at Disney World after tying the knot at Sojourn Midtown in Louisville Oct. 27.
Spencer was a successful young professional who was well-known in the Louisville social media community. In addition to working for Humana and 520 East Brands, he created the popular Twitter account “Louisville Humor.”
Humana and Sojourn sent the following statements to WHAS11:
“Jason Spencer had an ever-engaging smile, can-do attitude and commitment to improving Humana for everyone we serve. He worked for Humana for more than seven years and was well-known across the organization as an innovator with our social media team, leading the Humana Advocates program and our customer social care strategy. Jason was also a sought-after voice within the social media industry. We will miss him, and we are holding his family in our thoughts." – Kate Marx, Humana Corporate Communications
Friends of victim come out for vigil to remember victim
A crowd of at least 50 people came back to the scene Monday night to remember Spencer.
“It had only been ten nights since we had enjoyed their wedding and the reception and it was just an unthinkable turn of events that that precious life would be snuffed out so soon,” said Jeff Ross, who worked with him at Humana. “It was just impossible to comprehend.”
The memorial was organized by Kim Traylor who lives in the Highlands. She told WHAS 11 news she was just a few hundred feet behind Spencer and his wife when he got shot.
“It's just such a tragedy, a young man losing his life over money or a phone, or something. But it's a tragedy.”
She said she didn’t know him, but felt compelled to hold a memorial for him in the neighborhood. District 8 Metro Councilman Brandon Coan was there.
“It's doubley sad that a 30-year-old young man who is just starting his young life had his taken by a 15-year-old boy who hadn't really even started his,” Coan said.
Friends of Jason said he was a man of God and are leaning on faith as they search for closure.