Anti-violence advocate wounded in shooting
A local anti-violence advocate and youth mentor, who himself turned from drug-dealing after he was nearly killed in 1996, was shot early Friday morning while on the way to his son's school for a Christmas gathering.
Aubrey Williams Jr., 37, was shot just before 9 a.m. Friday near the West End School, 3628 Virginia Ave., said Sadiqa Reynolds, president and CEO of the Louisville Urban League, where Williams formerly worked as a youth development specialist.
Louisville Metro Police spokeswoman Alicia Smiley said a man was shot once near the school, sustaining non-fatal injuries, though she did not identify the man. The wounded man was picked up by a passer-by, who began to drive him to the hospital, though an ambulance met them and transported the man to the University of Louisville Hospital.
Smiley said there are no suspects as of Friday afternoon.
Now a case manager with the Kentucky Youth Career Center's Right Turn 2.0 program, Williams mentors youth who have had contact with the juvenile justice system to help set them on a stable life path.
The Morehouse College graduate was named a "West Louisville Connector" earlier this year by the Louisville Leadership Center, as part of an initiative to recognize those working to effect positive change in West Louisville.
In his teens, Williams racked up a number of gun- and drug-related charges and was kicked out of school. In 1996, then 18, he was shot in the hip during a drug-related fistfight at Broadway and 34th Street.
The shooting made headlines because Williams' father, attorney and former state House member Aubrey Williams Sr., fought for greater gun control during his time as a legislator.
Matriarchs from grieving families want peace
Just last month, Williams Jr. and his son were among about 50 concerned residents at a Stop the Violence meeting at the Louisville Urban League.
Williams spoke at the event, describing how the 1996 shooting was a wake-up call to turn his life around.
Attendees discussed various ways to curb the increase in shootings and killings during the event, organized by Nation of Islam Minister Jerald Muhammad, with Brothers Helping Brothers.
Through November, there have been 327 gunshot victims in Louisville, according to LMPD data. Year-to-date, that’s a 45 percent increase from 2014 and 67 percent from 2010.
Reynolds said the high rate of shootings this year is more than a crime issue.
“The violence in our community is a public health epidemic, and jobs, education and mental health treatment will begin the healing,” she said in an interview Friday.
The Urban League is organizing a peace walk Sunday to show solidarity with grassroots organizations doing anti-violence work and offer access to job opportunities and other economic initiatives in targeted neighborhoods.
“We must all work together for solutions,” Reynolds said. “We owe it to ourselves."
Reporters Phillip M. Bailey and Beth Warren contributed to this report. Reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at 502-582-4989 or mglowicki@courier-journal.com.