LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The sound of gunshots has become so common to people living around Castlewood Park in Lexington that a group of neighbors didn’t think to call 9-1-1 when they heard a series of gunshots around 9 p.m. Saturday.
The next morning, a man’s body was found just a few hundred feet away, near the pool at the park. He had suffered gunshot wounds, police said. They haven't confirmed if shots heard Saturday night were connected to the body found in the morning.
“That sound is kind of common in the area sometimes,” said Katarina Hoskins, who had been at a bonfire at a house across the street from the park when she heard the gunshots. “We just weren't sure. Was it gunshots, was it firecrackers? It was soon followed by the Legends (Counter Clocks) fireworks so I think we decided to not think much of it and unfortunately that was wrong.”
Both police and the coroner don’t know the name of the victim. They estimate he is in his 20s. She now says she’s ashamed she didn't take action — either calling someone like police or checking themselves to see if someone was hurt.
She said she is now grappling with the question of if she could have done something more.
“I definitely have thought about it,” Hoskins said. “We felt like we were having a nice time that night and didn't realize someone was hurt across the street.”
She’s called the police in the past during “very frightening” situations only to see nothing be done, Hoskins said.
“I think you unfortunately become desensitized and assume that the moments are going to pass and nothing’s really going to happen.”
The homicide is the fifth in Lexington this year, which is half as many as there were this time last year.
“It’s frustrating and scary that we're continuing to have these things happen with no changes being made to policy and no attention being brought to gun laws,” Hoskins said.
Asked if there’s a message she’d like to share with others, Hoskins said that if someone is in doubt, they should take action.
