Frustration grows after another shooting along popular Louisville entertainment strip

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Within the past year, the Highlands, one of Louisville’s popular neighborhoods for night life, has faced increased scrutiny over violence at bars and nightclubs.

Early Sunday morning, the neighborhood took on another round of gunfire along a busy Baxter Avenue. Dispatch calls indicate there were hundreds in the area, all scattering when shots rang out, creating chaos.

The shooting left two men dead and one in the hospital, none of whom have been identified. LMPD does not have a suspect in custody, though WAVE has confirmed they are investigating the shooting as a targeted incident.

“What do we have to do?” asked Jimmy Rhine, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than two decades. “Start martial law at the beginning of the Highlands on Friday night, you know, to check every car that comes in and out of here that they don’t have a gun?”

The community is frustrated and fed up with the violence that some city leaders are calling a public health epidemic.

“We are not going to continue to tolerate a culture of violence here,” said Ben Reno-Weber, a Louisville Metro council member for District 8.

In recent months, the strip of nightlife venues along Baxter and Bardstown Road has been under the microscope for crime and disorder. Often, closing times and liquor license violations have been in question, but that was not necessarily the case Sunday.

“This incident happened before 2 a.m. and would not have been impacted by a 2 a.m. closing,” said Reno-Weber.

LMPD reported the shooting appears to have happened outside around 1:45 a.m. Both victims who died were found along side streets outside of the neighborhood bars of Baxter’s 942 and Oshea’s. WAVE has not yet confirmed if Metro ABC is involved in the investigation. As of Sunday night, an emergency liquor license suspension had not been issued to any businesses in the area of the shooting.

Reno-Weber indicated he believes the shooting was likely gang-related, though LMPD has not yet confirmed that as a possible connection.

While the violence Sunday appears to diverge from the concerns over shootings at other Louisville venues in the past year, Reno-Weber makes it clear there are still more issues to address.

“We’re seeing a lot more tailgating on the street,” said Reno-Weber. “If you looked at some of the pictures that some of the neighbors have sent me this morning of all these small bottles of alcohol and gallons of vodka that were just laying on the street, clearly it’s not just inside the establishments that people are getting intoxicated.”

The councilman emphasized that LMPD has upped patrols in the entertainment strip. However, both he and nearby neighbors hope to see them extend into the residential area where things have gotten out of hand.

“I hope to see that there is a police presence on every corner of the Highlands from where the bar district starts to where the bar district ends because I don’t know what else you can do right now,” said Rhine.

LMPD’s Homicide Unit is investigating. Anyone with information is asked to call the anonymous tip line at 502-574-LMPD (5673) or use the LMPD Crime Tip Portal.

Copyright 2024 WAVE. All rights reserved.