Church holds onto hope after Monday’s fatal shootings

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Monday’s bank shooting was one of two that happened that day.

Around 11 a.m. Monday morning, LMPD responded to 8th and Chestnut Street and found two people shot, one of them dead.

With an increase in violence and tragedy throughout Louisville, a nearby church continues holding onto hope.

Brown Memorial CME Church sits right across from JCTC, the location of Monday’s second shooting. Brother Gary Thompson, the president of the trustees, said the church has safety plans, but it’s only a small part of what’s guiding them for two hundred years.

“The word of God,” Thompson said. “Hope for me at my age is insufficient for the times I have seen. That’s the reason I am here.”

At 77 years old, Brother Thompson’s been at Brown Memorial CME since 1950. Nearby buildings and communities have changed over time, but the heart of the church has remained the same despite nearby tragedies.

On Monday morning around 11 am, LMPD responded to a shooting at JCTC across from Brown Memorial CME church. When LMPD got there, they found a man shot and killed, along with a woman injured from gunshots. Police are still searching for suspects.

“Nowadays, taking lives seems like something people do like it’s a fashion,” Thompson said. “They just can’t wait to get a gun and kill someone, but I have hope things will get better.”

For two hundred years, Brown Memorial CME has stood for love, fellowship and brotherhood. Members say the recent wave of violence cannot shake the church’s foundation.

“Each person, be a good example of how we should live and conduct ourselves as human beings,” Thompson said. “To love one another as we ourselves would like to be loved.”

Police are still searching for suspects in the JCTC shooting. No arrests have been made.

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