LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — City leaders joined the family of 10-year-old Landon Hayes to dedicate a bench to him at the park he used to play.
Hayes was killed in his Lexington home in a shooting in February 2022.
His family worked with city leaders to honor him at Northeastern Park, with Urban County Councilmember Tanya Fogle leading the bench dedication there on Wednesday night.
"Every day after school, he would come to this park before he would come home," said Hayes' father, Louis Hayes.
Wednesday's dedication featured a number of speakers, including Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers.
"This has got to stop," Weathers said in an emotional plea, speaking about the number of children who have died from gun violence.
"I talk about community. And that means we've got to look out for each other. It doesn't mean that we have to turn a blind eye to the bad things that we do to each other."
Gun violence was central to the discussion at Wednesday's dedication. Fogle called on her district to put an end to violence.
"We're not gonna come back and dedicate any more benches to our children. We're gonna keep our children from having to have a bench dedicated," she said.
