Updated: 10-year-old dies in a murder-suicide at a Lexington home, officials say
Loved ones cried together outside a North Upper Street home Sunday afternoon as the Fayette County coroner and dozens of city police, firefighters, sheriff’s deputies and other officials showed up to investigate a murder-suicide that left two people dead, according to Lexington police.
Tyrus Lathem, 22, and Landon Hayes, 10, died in the shooting, according to the Fayette County Coroner’s office.
Police were originally called to the 500 block of North Upper Street for shots fired but found the two people dead inside the house when they arrived, Lexington police Lt. Dan Truex said.
It’s unclear what led to the shooting or how the incident unfolded, Truex said.
“I don’t believe that we’re ever going to know exactly what happened,” Truex said, because the two individuals primarily involved have both died.
Truex said a third person was in the home but not involved in the shooting.
As family members grieved outside the home Sunday, officials called in local chaplains to comfort and pray with the family and with first responders.
The city also called in other local resources to try to help loved ones.
10-year-old boy was ‘smart, athletic, funny and full of life’
Landon, the 10-year-old victim, was a youth football player for the Lexington Ravens, according to the Lexington Ravens’ Facebook page. The team shared a message Sunday about his death.
“We lost a great kid today,” the team said on Facebook. “Smart, athletic, funny and full of life. Words can’t explain how much we’ll miss you.”
Clark County’s youth athletics organization shared the Ravens’ post and said the football community was “mourning this evening for one of our own.”
“Regardless the team or the jersey as said by many others, each kid touches you in one way or another,” Clark County Youth Athletics said.
The national suicide prevention hotline is open 24/7 and can be reached at 1-800-273-8255.
This story was originally published February 6, 2022 at 1:56 PM.