LEXINGTON, Ky. — The city of Lexington continues to see an increase in gun violence. This weekend, homicide cases officially reached last year’s record-breaking numbers.
What You Need To Know
- Lexington had 37 homicide cases last year in 2021
- As of Sunday, Lexington has seen 37 homicide cases this year
- Out of the 37 cases, 32 of them were gun related
- Volunteers with organizations like BUILD are working to change Lexington for the better
37 homicides with three months to go this year. Bryna Reed, a volunteer with BUILD, said that’s too high.
“We have three months left, we have 37 people killed. How many more and then how many more is that going to trigger?” Reed said.
Reed helps the Lexington organization raise awareness of gun violence in Fayette County. And around 4 a.m. on Sunday, Lexington Police responded to a shooting where the victim was pronounced dead at the scene, officially reaching the same amount of homicides the city saw in total last year.
“It scares me to think about how many more are going to happen. Like right now, we’re just about one a week. We have three months left, four weeks. That means there could be 12 more homicides,” Reed said.
Out of the 37 cases, 32 of them were gun related. With victims as young as 10 years old to 65. And as a mother of two in the community, this increase has caused some anxiety.
“My son is playing basketball every day, and he’s going up to one of the schools to play basketball and it’s like, is he okay? To go there with his buddies like I think he is, but you just don’t know,” Reed said.
It will take everyone in Lexington to see a change in her community, Reed said. And she hopes organizations like BUILD will come together to continue their efforts in working to decrease violence within Fayette County.