LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A party to celebrate the life of one homicide victim ends with seven people being shot in Lexington.
This shooting happened last night near the Dunbar Community Center on Upper Street. By 9 p.m., the area around the basketball court was a crime scene.
"This is unnecessary violence that has to stop," said Sharon Price, who works near the shooting scene.
Seven people were shot, and one person is in critical condition.
According to police and social media accounts, the gathering was a cookout in honor of Kenneth Bottoms, Jr. Bottoms was just 17 years old when he was shot and killed inside Fayette Mall in what police called a targeted shooting. Two other people were shot. The next day, 19 year-old Xavier Hardin was charged with murder.
The killing of Bottoms happened within a week of two other deadly shootings of Lexington teens.
In the early morning hours of Sunday August 16, 18 year-old Mykel Waide died in gunfire off Newtown Pike. His life ended the day before he was supposed to start his freshman year at the University of Louisville.
The following Friday morning, 17 year-old Michael Proctor, a rising senior at Carter G. Woodson Academy, was killed in a shooting.
The morning after the shooting that left seven injured, we spoke with Sharon Price, the executive director of the Community Action Council.
Price works at the Russell School right by last night's shooting scene. She is concerned about the recent violence in the community, saying pulling out a gun won't solve the problems that exist.
"This didn't happen overnight. We're not going to be able to change this overnight, but we darn sure need to make sure that it's at the top of the list for things that need to change in Lexington," said Price.
Price hopes for a change soon before more lives are lost to gun violence.
At this time, no one has been arrested for the murders of Waide or Proctor, and there's no one in custody for Sunday night's shooting.
While Lexington police did confirm last night's gathering was in honor of Kenneth Bottoms, they did not confirm a link between those shootings or the ones that killed Waide or Proctor.
