LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As Kentucky faces a spike in coronavirus cases, Louisville is dealing with another surge: violent crime.
What You Need To Know
- Crime rates in Louisville rise dramatically from previous year
- There have been 79 recorded homicides so far in 2020 while 2019 saw 56 in total
- Christopher 2x attributes the rise to the pandemic and social unrest
According to Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) data, 79 homicides have occurred in 2020 as of Monday afternoon. Community activist Christopher 2x is speaking for the families of the homicide victims.
Christopher 2x, founder of the organization "Gamechangers," hopes investigators won't forget the family members still looking for answers. Less than half of the homicides recorded are classified as "closed case" status according to LMPD online data.
"Families do not want anyone to forget about what they're going through with the violent crime scourge in our city," 2x told Spectrum News 1.
Louisville could see more than double the homicides this year than last if the rate at which homicides are occurring continues. LMPD says there were 56 homicides in 2019.
It's hard to say what's contributing to the violence. Spectrum News 1 reached out to LMPD for a comment but has not heard back. 2x feels the pandemic and social unrest may have fueled it instead of slow it, as he originally thought would happen.
"Even under COVID-19, even over the social advocacy efforts and the unrest that's kind of paired with it, there has just been a continuum before COVID, before the unrest, that has not in some kind of way, taken a pause because of those strong events," he said.
Still, he doesn't want the pandemic or protests to overshadow the calls for closure families are making through him. He says police must "multitask" to get justice for the homicide victims. To try to curb the violence, 2x says the National Network of Safe Communities will be in Louisville soon to talk strategies for reducing violence.