3 weekend homicides ‘a heartbreaking reminder’ of work to be done, Lexington official says
Four gun deaths in a 24-hour span over the weekend were a sharp spike for Lexington in a year that has featured fewer homicides.
Four people were killed in three separate shootings from Saturday morning to Sunday morning. While the city’s homicide numbers are still lower this year compared to last year, one of Lexington’s chief violence intervention specialists said a day of more frequent gun violence was a reminder the issue hasn’t been completely resolved.
“Obviously we’ve seen a ton of progress and it looks like we’re going to have a much better year this year than last year,” One Lexington Director Devine Carama said. “But to be honest, in weekends and stretches like we’ve had over the last week to 10 days, that doesn’t really mean anything to me.”
Lexington has reported 19 homicides this year following this weekend’s death. In 2022, Lexington reached 19 homicides in late May, according to data from the Lexington Police Department. The city recorded its 36th homicide on Sept. 25 last year, a year in which the city set a new homicide record with 44.
There have also been 62 non-fatal shootings so far this year, which is 38 fewer than last year, according to LPD’s crime data.
Carama said even if the community is optimistic about reduced gun violence, families are suffering from this weekend’s fatalities.
“It’s just a heartbreaking reminder that there’s going to be ebbs and flows in this work,” Carama said. “We’re going to have spikes and just as a community, we’ve got to weather that.”
The last time Lexington saw at least three homicides in a two-day stretch was May 2022, when it happened twice. It also happened in July 2020.
The first shooting of last weekend left 18-year-old Dametrius Hampton dead outside a Cook Out restaurant on South Broadway. Carama said Hampton was a recent graduate of Frederick Douglass High School.
The second shooting was a murder-suicide that left a man and a woman dead. The Fayette County Coroner’s Office identified the woman as 23-year-old Christina Fikes.
The third shooting happened downtown34-year-old Ty’Juan Pearson was killed.
Lexington police said all three shootings are under investigation and there were no updates Monday afternoon. Police were still looking for 21-year-old Jacolby Williams, a suspect in Hampton’s killing.
Investigators encouraged anyone with any information about any of the shootings to call Lexington police at (859) 258-3600. Anonymous tips can 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 September 25, 2023 at 2:16 PM.
