JCPS student, adult in hospital after shooting in Russell neighborhood

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - An adult and a JCPS student from Eastern High School are in the hospital after a shooting in the Russell neighborhood Wednesday afternoon, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department.

Officers responded to a report of a shooting near the intersection of 24th and Magazine Streets around 4:30 p.m., LMPD spokesperson Matthew Sanders said.

Sanders said very early information suggests that a fight started on a JCPS bus which escalated after the students got off the bus.

When officers arrived, they found a “high school-aged” juvenile and an adult who had both been shot. Sanders said both were taken to UofL Hospital and are expected to survive. Sanders said this incident involved several “high school-aged” juveniles.

WAVE News spoke with a neighbor whose security cameras captured the shooting. He asked not to be identified.

He said it was the second time a shooting had happened in the area around his house. He also said it makes him worried about kids today who are constantly facing the threat of violence, even in places they should feel safe.

“I’m sorry. I wish they didn’t have to deal with it,” the neighbor said. “They shouldn’t be having to worry about stuff like that.”

“There’s no accountability for our children. They’re going to do what they want to do and face the consequences later,”Pivot to Peace supervisor Kahlid Raheem said.

Pivot to Peace is a city-wide program that provides support for families of victims of violent crime.

Raheem goes to crime scenes to comfort family members and will even go to the hospital with them. He said that sometimes he’s at multiple scenes a day.

“We go into the gutter of what’s going on in our community, if it’s gangs or just people that have nothing to do because they have nothing,” Raheem said.

The program tries to connect parents with resources and teach kids problem-solving and conflict resolution in order to prevent more violence.

“We need to do more about arming the families and helping the families before the kids get here,” Raheem said. “Because parents are crying for help when they start seeing them go left or right, but there’s nothing for them if they’re not criminalized.”

JCPS officials said there will be security in the area where the incident happened and there will be additional security at school on Thursday and Friday.

“This afternoon, one of our students was shot near 24th and Magazine Street after school,” JCPS said in a letter to families. “The student was taken to the hospital with what police have described as ‘non-life-threatening injuries.’ Since this is a medical situation, I cannot provide additional information on the student or their condition.”

LMPD’s Non-Fatal Shooting Unit is handling the ongoing investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call the anonymous Crime Tip Hotline at 502-574-LMPD (5673) or use the online LMPD Crime Tip Portal.

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