‘It hurts’: Families deal with gun violence aftermath as Louisville faces another deadly year

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - This year is shaping up to be the third-deadliest in Louisville history in terms of homicides.

Through the end of August, 111 homicides have been reported, per the Louisville Metro Police Department.

Many of those deaths are due to gun violence. Those numbers do not include the hundreds more non-fatal shootings that plague the city.

Krista and Navada Gwynn know the faces behind these statistics all too well.

In 2019, their 19-year-old son Christian was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting. In 2021, their daughter Victoria, then 19, was shot in the knee at a city park.

Now their now 14-year-old daughter, Navada, is left to deal with the secondary trauma of the loss and pain.

“I’ve just seen my 14-year-old change so much,” Navada’s father said. “And it hurts. It hurts to see my child go from such an outgoing person and become an introvert.”

Meanwhile, Victoria still feels the physical effects of her gunshot.

Two surgeries later, she is still standing, but as her father said, “My baby’s soul; my baby’s spirit... my daughter has become a different Victoria.”

All of this while the whole family mourns the loss of Chris.

“It hurts,” Krista Gwynn said. “Christmas is coming around. My son’s birthday is coming around.”

The Gwynns, now advocates against gun violence in their community, understand that they are not alone in this pain.

If the year’s trend continues, Louisville will end 2022 with about 167 homicides, third only to 2020 with 173 and 2021 with 188.

“Those are not great numbers,” said Christopher 2X, activist and executive director of 2X Game Changers.

Beyond those hard data, he said the true number affected isn’t just the hundreds killed.

“It’s in the thousands of how many neighbors and families are being impacted at some level by the shootings,” he said.

For example, young Navada Gwynn, who struggles daily with her siblings’ loss and trauma.

Navada participates in Christopher 2X’s program “Future Healers,” which matches local youth with health care professionals who can introduce them to the healing side of trauma.

While this year’s homicide numbers might end up lower than last year’s, Krista Gwynn has mixed feelings.

“That means that somebody’s child walked through the door,” Gwynn said. “But it’s still over 100... It’s no pat on the back. It’s still children killing children, and it’s still mothers and fathers losing their kids. It’s still too much.”