Teen in serious condition after U of L shooting
A 19-year-old college student home for summer break was struck at random when gunfire broke out after a party near the University of Louisville campus early Sunday morning.
Eriaun Warrick, 19, was shot in the mouth and the bullet lodged in her upper back. Despite life-threatening injuries, the education major at Western Kentucky University was upgraded to serious condition from critical early Monday. She wrote notes to relatives at her hospital bedside and thanked friends who came to her aid immediately after the shooting.
Four friends who were with Warrick during the incident told of going together to a party near U of L late Saturday and leaving afterwards to find a crowd of 200 or more lingering outside near the intersection of Third Street and Cardinal Boulevard early Sunday morning.
A fight broke out in the middle of the street, recalled Warrick's friend Sasha Snardon, 19, and "a minute later, it was just shots. I could hear bullets going off cars."
Snardon said she didn't see who was fighting or get a look at the person with the weapon because "I was running as fast as I could."
Police responded to the scene at about 1 a.m. No details have been released about what sparked the shootings, but social media posts carried video of the panic that swept the crowd. Dozens of people are shown running as shots rang out. Warrick's friends said they heard at least 20 to 30 shots fired.
In the frenzy that followed, Ase' Strawter said he saw Warrick lying on her back on the ground and knew his friend was injured. He saw no blood, but his lifeguard training told him that if she'd been hit in the neck, he shouldn't move her. He threw himself on top of her while the shots continued. Then he said he pulled away from her to call 911 while a stranger rushed over and began giving Warrick CPR.
"It's just sad," Snardon said. "You can't have fun and have a good time without something like this happening."
The LMPD Major Crimes Unit is investigating, but no arrests have been made.
Christopher 2X, the activist who organized a briefing for the media, said that Warrick's family suffered a tragedy 12 years ago when Warrick's cousin, a 16-year-old high school junior, was shot and killed.
"For them it's like a double tragedy 12 years later," 2X said.
Reporter Grace Schneider can be reached at 502-582-4082 or gschneider@courier-journal.com.
