LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — From the start of 2024 to Oct. 31, there have been 16 homicides as a result of gun violence. According to the ONE Lexington Bi-Weekly report, nine of those homicides were kids or young adults between the ages of 10 and 29.
It's an issue LEX 18 has been looking into extensively for months now.
Anytime we've looked into gun violence in Lexington, we've talked with ONE Lexington. That organization is constantly working to prevent shootings before they happen, but today we took our questions directly to Lexington Police. We asked Sgt. Guy Miller about community safety concerns and the steps everyone can take to reduce gun violence among youth and young adults in Lexington.
"Call us. Let us intervene. Let us come have that conversation with your kid, because we want to prevent it," says Sgt. Miller.
Communication. Intervention. Prevention.
Three things Sgt. Miller says are important when working together to reduce gun violence.
"It goes back to that communication. No matter what part it is, if it's intervening, prevention, or just when it's happening, let us know what you are seeing and let us know the main facts of where you are and then what you're seeing and what we are looking for," explains Sgt. Miller. "Officer presence on a scene can prevent someone acting on a violent tendency."
Sgt. Miller also says to trust your instincts.
"Some things are planned and some things are spontaneous. All the factors come together at the right moment and if you are in that situation and your reading everyone in the area, if there is threats or you think your human instincts are telling you this can escalate more violent with more people doing things they shouldn't , give us a call before it escalates to actually someone acting on that violence," says Sgt. Miller.
Community activists such as ONE Lexington go out into neighborhoods and speak to people, going door to door and talking about some of the issues that they are having within the community.
When asked how big of a help that is to the department when it comes to preventing gun violence, Sgt. Miller responded, "It's invaluable. I mean they are out there talking to the community, getting to know the issues, the problems, and they are helping solve them before they escalate, and that's what we need out there."
As we head into the Thanksgiving and Christmas break, we also asked Sgt. Miller if there is a message that he wants to get out to the community,
"If your human instinct says hey something is off here, tell the person you think you need to tell. Just say hey, this is what I observed, this is what I saw, this is what they said, and I just wanted you to be aware of it. Then, if you think we need to be involved, call us. That is what we are here for. To listen to the community and help solve problems before they escalate."
Sgt. Miller also mentioned the importance of registering your security cameras through the department's Connect Lexington program.
The program allows traffic cameras, business surveillance cameras, and private security cameras to connect to a central network. So when a crime happens, police can then see where cameras are and find out if there is any video that could help in their investigation.
Our Ellen Ice spoke with Lexington police about the program on Monday.
