Neighbor: Lexington shooting left minors injured, happened at a short-term rental party
When Renea Buckles woke up in the early-morning hours Sunday to a loud disturbance from a nearby residence on Windermere Road, she almost went outside to complain about the noise.
She’s glad she didn’t, as she told the Herald-Leader that gunshots rang out 30 minutes later. That was followed by sirens and people shouting from a nearby party. Three people were shot at the party inside the neighboring home, which Buckles said was being utilized as a short-term rental at the time.
The Lexington Police Department would not confirm the status of the home or its purpose. The homeowner didn’t respond to a request for comment.
“It sounded like a war zone, so we stayed put and the officers came and taped off our yard,” Buckles told the Herald-Leader. “There were cars with busted windshields and bullet holes.”
The Lexington Police Department confirmed Sunday that the shooting happened in the 3000 block of Windermere Road at around 3 a.m. Police were called to the scene for a noise complaint, but officers heard gunshots when they arrived.
Short-term rentals are furnished apartments or houses that are rented for short periods of time and are usually seen as an alternative to hotels. Some rental companies include Airbnb and VRBO.
Ruthie Wabula, a representative for Airbnb, would not confirm that the property was listed on Airbnb, but said the reservation for Sunday’s party was not made through Airbnb.
Minors involved in the shooting; City program intervenes
Hannah Sloan, a spokesperson for LPD, said one man and a minor were found at the scene with gunshot wounds. Another victim, a woman, also showed up at a hospital with injuries. They all had non-life-threatening injuries.
ONE Lexington Director Devine Carama told the Herald-Leader more than 50 shots were fired. ONE Lexington is the city’s youth violence prevention program, which is part of the mayor’s office. Carama works closely with at-risk youth and people involved in shootings to respond to and prevent violence.
Carama told the Herald-Leader the victims, suspects and some of the other party-goers were between the ages of 13 and 29, which is the age range ONE Lexington works with.
Carama said he’ll be in the Glendover neighborhood Tuesday night to speak with residents and hear concerns as part of the services the ONE Lexington Crisis Team offers.
“Any time there is a shooting — non injury, injury, or fatal — our crisis response team is going to that neighborhood,” Carama said. “We offer resources to the community and give them a space to talk about what happened and know we support them.”
Carama said the circumstances of the Windermere shooting were rare, and he hopes to tell residents not to be concerned about further threats. Lexington shootings are typically related to individual conflicts, he said.
“One thing we’ve seen in Lexington, there aren’t typically random shootings where they are all at risk. What we have learned is most of the violence is interpersonal,” he said. “All of it is individuals who have a conflict and choose a gun to be the weapon to resolve that conflict.”
Concern with Lexington short-term rentals after shooting
On Sunday, Buckles’ husband was outside cleaning up glass, debris and bullet shells. Buckles said her family and other neighbors have been shaken up by the experience, and she wants to see more accountability for short-term rental owners.
Buckles said the home where the incident occurred has been a short-term rental for years, and there have been noisy occupants at times. But nothing had escalated to the level of Sunday’s altercation.
Buckles said nearly 100 people had been partying in the rental for two days before the shooting occurred inside the three-bedroom, ranch-style home. Lexington police didn’t confirm how many people were at the party.
Buckles said the tragic incident highlights two issues in Lexington: youth gun violence and enforcement of regulations on short-term rentals.
“Those are not always related, but they are in this case,” she said.
The listed owner of the home where the incident happened didn’t respond to multiple messages from the Herald-Leader.
“My prayers are with the kids that were shot and their families because that is the real tragedy in all of this,” she said. “As scared as I was to hear the gunshots out of my house, I can’t imagine being the parent that got that call that their child was shot at a party.”
Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council has enacted regulations for short-term rentals. Those regulations include licensing requirements for those who own the property, permits and compliance with building codes, local laws and more.
This story was originally published October 24, 2023 at 11:30 AM.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story reported the short-term rental home on Windermere Road was an Airbnb listing. This story has been updated with comments from Airbnb about the property.
