LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — City leaders are responding to increased gun violence in Lexington. Three people are dead stemming from three separate shootings over the past week and two victims are teenagers.
"Last night was scary but at the same time I couldn't do anything about it. It was out of my control. Only thing I can do is ask my kids if they're alright, tell them to lay on the floor, grab their knees and make sure they don't get hit by a bullet," a neighbor told LEX18 after a shooting on Ohio Street early Tuesday.
Police responded to that location near downtown just after midnight to a report of gunshots. They found 24-year-old Tai'Maricus Warner and the Fayette County Coroner's Office pronounced him dead at the scene.
Early Monday morning, 19-year-old Darius Gaston-Garner was shot on River Park Drive and died at UK Hospital.
Last Tuesday overnight, 16-year-old Arsenio Jackson was shot and killed on Rambling Creek Drive.
"There's stuff going on that shouldn't be going on," the aforementioned neighbor on Ohio Street told LEX18.
As Lexington police continue to investigate the fifth homicide of the year and second in the last 24 hours, Chief Lawrence Weathers and Mayor Linda Gorton chose to release this statement early Tuesday afternoon.
First, we want the community to know that our Police Department is fully committed to investigating and solving these crimes,” said Mayor Gorton and Chief Weathers. “One Lexington is focused on helping the families. Our police department, the One Lexington team, and community partners need the full support of our entire community. Lexington police need your assistance and tips to help solve these crimes – they can’t be everywhere, all the time. Our community needs your leadership and involvement to help us stop this violence. As we join together to pray for the families and friends of these young people, remember the importance of working together. It will take a village to save our young people, and we need our village more than ever right now.
Comparing last year to this year, there have been five homicides in Lexington so far in 2025.
If you have information on the crimes, the city is urging you to call Lexington Police at 859-258-3600 or you can call with anonymous tips to Bluegrass Crime Stoppers at 859-253-2020.
