LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As Youth Violence Prevention Week came to a close on Friday with an event at Baxter Avenue Theater, 15 minutes south, police wrapped crime scene tape around a basketball court at Wyandotte Park.
It's the latest tragedy bringing a necessary conversation to the forefront.
Officers responded to the park around 7:13 p.m., police said, where officers found one man shot near the basketball courts. About 15 minutes later, a second person arrived at the hospital with a gunshot wound to their shoulder. Police said both adults are expected to survive.
"I think Louisville definitely sees trends, and is able to be aware of said trends through the activations that you've seen," Javoughn Brown-Lewis, a youth engagement specialist with the Office of Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods (OSHN), said.
Recent trends tell us Louisville is seeing a decline in the number of young shooting victims year over year, but still, the age group makes up a majority of shooting victims.
"I do know youth violence is an issue; and that's what makes National Youth Violence Prevention Week such an important thing, because it does happen," Brown-Lewis said.
Between 2020 and 2023, more than 1,100 people under the age of 25 were victims of gun violence.
"I think one of the biggest issues that we have is the trickle effect that trauma has on the community, at the bare bones," Brown-Lewis said.
Taking aim at the issue is at the heart of what the Office of Safe and Healthy Neighborhood's Metro Youth Cabinet does.
"That's overall the goal; to build strong children to develop strong, strong citizens within our local community," Brown-Lewis said. "And that is through the youth programs that we see in Louisville."
All this week, the cabinet has hosted events, offering an outlet to discuss youth gun violence in the city and promote solutions.
"(It's) all created to increase community's capacity to work with young people and families in the community," Brown-Lewis said.
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