‘Kindest soul.’ Friends honor UK nursing student killed in Lexington shooting
Friends and coworkers paid tribute Thursday to a Lexington nurse and college student killed in an early-morning shooting at his home.
Jesse Matthew Averitt, 28, was shot when someone fired into his home in the 900 block of DePorres Avenue just after 2 a.m., according to police Lt. Chris Van Brackel. Averitt was taken to the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital with injuries that were initially described as life-threatening.
He died just after 2:45 a.m., according to the coroner’s office.
Averitt was a nurse at Eastern State Hospital and a senior in the nursing program at the University of Kentucky, UK officials confirmed Thursday. Averitt joined Eastern State Hospital and the Central Kentucky Recovery Care Center staff as a mental health associate in 2017, according to Marc Woods, assistant chief nurse executive for UK HealthCare-Behavioral Health.
Averitt became a licensed practical nurse about a year later and enrolled in UK’s “LPN to BSN program,” Woods said in a statement. Woods said Eastern State Hospital/Central Kentucky Recovery Center and UK HealthCare were grieving the “tragic loss” of Averitt, and hearts ached for his family and friends.
“Jesse’s positive outlook made him a joy to know and work with,” Woods said in a statement. “He always had a smile on his face and a kind word for patients and his fellow teammates. All of us who loved him are mourning the loss of Jesse.”
Janie Heath, the UK College of Nursing dean and Warwick professor of nursing, said that Averitt was expected to graduate in December with his bachelor’s.
“Jesse was an exceptional student, but more importantly, he was an exceptional person with a big heart and the ability to brighten anyone’s day when they were feeling down,” Heath said in a statement. “Our sincerest sympathies go out to Jesse’s family, friends, fellow students and colleagues at this most difficult time — he will be truly missed.”
Several of Averitt’s friends and coworkers took to social media Thursday to commemorate him.
“My heart hurts today,” Kiristin McDowell said in a Facebook post. “You had the kindest soul out of every person I’d ever met; you had the biggest heart and were all around someone who everyone looked up to.”
Jody Gillespie posted that “28 years was not long enough for this beautiful soul.”
“Jesse loved his job, you could tell,” she said. “He was always helping patients with something! Life is not fair people.”
Johna Rae Arnett, a nurse at Eastern State Hospital, called Averitt “an angel on Earth.”
“There are no words to describe how much my heart is breaking,” she said in a post. “Jesse was one of the best nurses that I have had the joy to not only work with but supervise. He had such a beautiful soul and would always put others over himself.”
Morgan Elizabeth, another nurse at Eastern State, said she loved working with Averitt.
“The compassion he had for our patients was unmatched,” she said in a post. “He loved them. I am truly devastated that such a kind soul was taken from us way too soon! ESH just won’t be the same without him!”
Averitt’s boyfriend, who lived with him, was in the home when the shots were fired, police said. He wasn’t wounded and called 911 to report the shooting, Van Brackel said.
Police didn’t yet have information on a suspect or motive, Van Brackel said. Police spokeswoman Brenna Angel said later Thursday that a witness reported seeing a vehicle leave the area at a high rate of speed immediately after the shooting, but police didn’t have a suspect description.
Anyone with information about this case was asked to contact Lexington police by calling (859) 258-3600.
Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Bluegrass Crime Stoppers by calling (859) 253-2020, online at www.bluegrasscrimestoppers.com, or through the P3 tips app available at www.p3tips.com.
This story was originally published March 4, 2021 at 7:16 AM.