One Lexington director announces new initiative to stop gun violence as city hits grim milestone

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Lexington has hit a grim milestone, passing the record number of homicides set in 2020.

Police say 51-year-old Ramon Pennie was shot Tuesday night on Hill Street, not far from the Lexington Legends Ballpark.

It’s Lexington’s 35th homicide of 2021 and comes as the director of One Lexington, Devine Carama announced a new initiative to stop gun violence.

Most of the victims and suspects are young Black males. Carama is spearheading an initiative that will connect Black men with Black youth.

“I just believe a lot of these young kids don’t have fathers at home, so I believe a lot of these men can help kind of fill in those gaps and be mentors,” Carama said.

A few weeks ago, One Lexington held a violence prevention workshop at the University of Kentucky. Men learned about organizations they can join to help mentor youth.

Carama hopes to continue the effort by recruiting black men to participate in activities throughout the community.

“We’re not just going to meet to talk or to discuss,” Carama said. “We got to get these brothers into the fold so we can see more of us on the streets, these young kids can see more of us and hopefully it will make an impact.”

One Lexington has some community-building events set up. Black men will help with distributing food to neighborhoods right before Christmas. They’ll also be hosting a job fair for men formerly incarcerated.

Copyright 2021 WKYT. All rights reserved.