Community activist reacts to deadly weekend in Lexington
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - After a deadly weekend in Lexington, the city gathered for a prayer vigil to honor gun violence victims.
Three people were killed in just 24 hours.
MORE:
- Lexington police investigate early morning homicide, suspect identified
- Two dead in Lexington murder-suicide
- Lexington police investigate fatal downtown shooting, victim identified
Corey Dunn, a crisis response team member with ONE Lexington, says the work he does to help reduce gun violence is both personal and professional.
“It’s personal every single time because even if I don’t know the individual directly, I will know someone associated or someone closely related to that person,” said Dunn.
The first shooting happened outside of the Cookout on S. Broadway in Lexington and resulted in the death of 18-year-old Dametrius Hampton. A warrant has been issued for 21-year-old Jacolby Williams, who is considered armed and dangerous.
About 12 hours later, police responded to a murder-suicide at Hollow Creek Apartments in Lexington. Sami Younus is suspected of shooting and killing 23-year-old Christina Fikes after a domestic dispute. Younus then turned the gun on himself, and he later died at the hospital.
Early Sunday morning, 38-year-old Ty ’Juan Pearson was struck and killed by gunfire on Main Street in downtown Lexington. No arrests have been made.
According to Dunn, there is no one person or entity to blame for the uptick in gun violence.
“We can’t blame the police. We can’t blame the people who make the guns. We can’t blame any individual. It’s society as a whole, and we all have a shared responsibility in making sure these things don’t happen,” said Dunn.
WKYT reached out to Lexington Police for a comment on the recent violence and how they plan to react, but they have refused to comment at this time.
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