Mayor Greenberg & Chief Gwinn-Villaroel Address Recent Homicides in Louisville

Mayor and Chief call for an end to gun violence after 10 homicides in 10 days to start the new year

Less than one day after Louisville recorded its tenth homicide of 2023, Mayor Craig Greenberg and LMPD Chief Jackie Gwinn-Villaroel held a press conference to call for an end to gun violence across the city.

The mayor and chief addressed reporters Wednesday morning, after an unusually violent start to the new year, which saw ten homicides in the first ten days of 2023. LMPD is asking for anyone with information about these shootings to call and leave an anonymous tip at 502-574-5673.

“Today, I am pleading with our community to stop the violence, stop the killing. Each of these people killed in our city was a son or daughter, father or mother, brother, or sister,” said Mayor Greenberg. “These men and women should still be with us right now, but their lives were taken abruptly because of gun violence.”

Mayor Greenberg and Chief Gwinn-Villaroel were also joined by Jason Buckner, whose brother Jeremiah Ekoe Buckner was shot and killed on January 3rd. Ekoe was a musician and performer who was a founding member of Linkin’ Bridge.

“To the victims’ families, your loved ones are not forgotten and LMPD is working tirelessly to find the individuals responsible. Among other solutions, we continue working with our federal partners securing indictments on violent offenders, but the key to successfully combatting crime is the collaboration and involvement of Louisville’s citizens.” Chief Gwinn-Villaroel said. “We cannot do this alone. Homicides erode the well-being of our community as a whole. If you see something, please say something. You can call the LMPD tip line anonymously 502-574-LMPD (5673),” she said.

The mayor also announced Wednesday he is authorizing the use of additional software for LMPD detectives that will help improve investigations. “After the inauguration I met with the detectives and asked what my administration can do to help them solve more homicide cases,” the mayor said. “They asked for this software because they believe it will help them solve homicides quicker and get our city’s most violent criminals off the street. This is just the first of many actions we will take to give our officers the resources they need to prevent and solve violent crimes.”