After four people were killed and two others were hospitalized in shootings over the weekend, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg is promising to release information on new strategies to alleviate gun violence.
At a press conference Tuesday, Greenberg called the city’s homicide rate “unacceptable.” He said his office is working with the Louisville Metro Police Department’s new Interim Chief Paul Humphrey to target people involved in gangs.
“A lot of this is driven by gang activity that’s going on in our city right now, so we’ve reached out to increase partnerships with our state and federal partners, to ask them how we can do more together and hold the individuals that we believe are responsible for some of this activity accountable,” he said.
Greenberg said he also wants to see substantial sentences for people who “are committing the most heinous crimes in our city,” and he’s working with the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and Jefferson County Attorney to ensure that happens.
He said he plans to hold an announcement “very soon” to show residents the new approaches officials are taking to address the crisis.
Despite increased funding for LMPD and anti-gun violence programs in recent years, the number of homicides in Louisville has remained flat, at best. One hundred and six people have been murdered in Louisville so far this year, a 6% increase over this time last year.
Louisville bucking national trends
A survey released by the Major Cities Chiefs Association earlier this month showed violent crime is decreasing in most of the U.S.’s biggest cities.
The survey looked at homicides, rapes and robberies in 65 large metro areas. There were just 15 cities, including Louisville, where homicides were up during the first half of this.
There are some areas where Louisville improved, according to the MCCA survey. The organization found other types of violent crime are down compared to this time last year.
As of June 30, reports of sexual assault are down 65%, from 112 to 39. Reports of robberies and aggravated assaults are also about 10% lower compared to the same time in 2023, per the report.
During Tuesday’s press conference, Greenberg noted that nonfatal shootings are down from last year, although he said that “is nothing to celebrate.”
Louisville has so far seen 229 nonfatal shootings, according to the city’s gun violence dashboard, compared to 240 at the same time last year, a decrease of 4.5%.
Nationally, violent crime is at some of the lowest levels in 50 years, but public perceptions of crime don’t match the data. A Gallup poll released in November found that three-quarters of Americans believe crime is increasing and 63% say the country’s crime problem is extremely or very serious.
Part of the disconnect, at least in Louisville, may be because there are still many more shootings and homicides than before the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.
While the number of nonfatal shootings may be trending downward, there are still 35% more than this time in 2019. Likewise, there were 55 more murders last year than there were in the year before the pandemic.
New focus on late-night venues
Since Greenberg took office last year, city officials have placed more responsibility on bars and restaurants to keep their patrons and the public safe.
Louisville Metro ABC, which regulates establishments licensed to serve alcohol, has initiated numerous investigations into late-night venues where shootings happened.
In July, the Bardstown Road bar Afrokanza closed its doors after an investigation by ABC officers. Three people were shot and killed outside of Afrokanza in July 2023 and neighbors had filed multiple complaints about the establishment with city officials.
A nearby restaurant, Cafe 360, also announced in March that it would “voluntarily relinquish” its extended-hours liquor license after 21-year-old Theodore Brown was killed inside the business.
District 8 Metro Council Member Ben Reno-Weber, a Democrat who represents the area surrounding Bardstown Road, said at a press conference last week that ABC officers and LMPD will continue to do proactive enforcement in the city’s entertainment districts. He said Louisville Metro also needs to step up its funding for programs like Kentuckiana Works, Gun Violence Intervention and YouthBuild.
“What makes young people vulnerable to being engaged in violence as a whole, and gang violence in particular, is when they don’t feel hope,” Reno-Weber said.
He said gun violence in Louisville is the result of past failures to invest in programs and services that support children and families.
