Sounds of nightlife echo off of the surrounding restaurants and businesses in the Highlands. People bustle about, enjoying their Saturday night, not expecting anything bad to happen.  

Suddenly, gunshots ring out followed closely by screams. The people who had been enjoying their time out scatter, seeking security. Their memories of tonight are now tarnished by fear. Everyone packs into the open businesses. The ones stuck on the street are left to fend for themselves. 

A dying man lies on the ground, his blood soaking the concrete. More gunshots sound. The gunman is shot, fleeing the scene. New blood scatters across the concrete. Citizens are frantically fleeing, escaping death. 

Eventually, the blood will wash away. People will return to the restaurants and bars. But, a man is forever dead. Hundreds are eternally traumatized. 

At 1:45 a.m. on Aug. 11, Richie Williams shot Montay Wade on the 900 block of Baxter Avenue. Shortly after, an unidentified suspect shot Williams on the 1500 block of Morton Avenue. Three minutes later, an unidentified killer shot Michael Bachelor Jr. Police deemed the two shootings unrelated. 

EMS transported Wade to the University of Louisville hospital where he later died due to his injuries, while authorities pronounced Bachelor dead on scene. Williams arrived at Norton Women’s and Children’s Hospital by a private vehicle. He survived his injuries, but police identified and arrested him.

Authorities sent Ritchie to court on Aug. 26 and faces charges for the murder of Wade and possessing a handgun as a convicted felon. The judge set his bond to $500,000 full cash. 

Olivia Barczynski was one of over a hundred people who were at the scene at the time of the shooting. She was out at Baxter’s 942 Bar & Grill getting food with friends when she heard the gunshots. 

“Everybody just started ducking down, running, leaving. We didn’t know where to run, where to go, because we weren’t sure where the gunshots were coming from, but we knew they were close. They were telling everybody to go inside. We went inside, and it was too packed in there, so then we ended up leaving out the back exit gate, and we turned to the right, and that’s when we saw somebody’s body laying on the ground,” Barczynski said.

This was not Barczynski’s first traumatic experience. Two years ago, Barczynski was shot in the face. She now faces Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and night terrors. The night of the shooting was one of the first nights she’s been able to go out since the incident.

“It really affected me to the point where I don’t even want to go out into Louisville anymore,” Barczynski said. Police arrived at the scene quickly, but did not help much with crowd control. 

“They didn’t really help with the mass amount of people that were just running everywhere, we didn’t have much direction on where the shots were coming from,” Barczynski said.

Bars and restaurants responded to shootings by enacting new policies. Joe’s Palm Room and The Gruv Sports Bar and Lounge have both implemented a 30 and older policy to enter the establishments.

“We aim to please our loyal patrons and ensure their continued enjoyment at our luxurious establishment. Thank you for your continued support,” Joe’s Palm Room wrote on their Facebook. 

Additionally, LMPD has begun to increase their presence in these entertainment areas and has added security cameras, in part to cut down on loitering and drinking on the sidewalks.

“I got sent a lot of pictures from the neighbors the next day about how there were open discarded containers of alcohol all up and down, not just Bardstown Road, but the streets up into the neighborhood,” said Ben Reno-Weber, the Metro Councilman for Louisville Metro Government, District 8.

To combat this issue, Reno-Weber plans to create a sidewalk ordinance. This policy would force businesses to “police” the outside of their establishment and monitor their patrons regarding violence and alcohol intake. With increased police presence and the sidewalk ordinance, Reno-Weber hopes it will combat the increase in intoxication induced violence in bars. 

The Highlands area is already back to its normal, lively state, the shootings having no real impact on the local businesses. “I was on the same block… the Thursday after the shooting, and every patio bar was full. And this week, I have been spending a lot of time dealing with the fact that we have such a vibrant nightlife in the highlands that it’s causing noise issues with the neighbors,” Reno-Weber said.

The shooting on Aug. 11 is far from the first incident of violence in Louisville’s history. According to LMPD, in 2024 alone, there have been 111 incidents of homicides and 238 non-fatal shootings. This is 12 more cases of homicide than in 2023. Additionally, there have been 117 total homicide victims this year. 2023 had 110 throughout the course of the year. 

Kentucky allows an individual to purchase a gun without a permit as long as they are over 21 and do not have any felonies. However, anyone can purchase guns through ghost guns. Ghost guns are parts of guns that are sold separately to be assembled by the purchaser. They do not contain a serial number which makes them untraceable. This allows people who are unable to legally purchase a gun to obtain them. 

But, violence doesn’t always involve just guns or adults. Many kids and teens are resorting to violence by joining gangs or starting fights at school. On Sept. 6, a student from Kammerer Middle School attacked a classmate on a school bus. A student jumped 12-year-old Kionni Davis, repeatedly whipping him with a belt and punching him. 

“Where we have seen such an uptick in homicides and violence in our community is directly after a lag of disinvestment in youth programs and in young people,” Reno-Weber said. He hopes to invest in youth programs to help young people have a fair opportunity at life and a stable access to necessary resources. 

Greater Louisville Project reported in their 2023 Community Report: Safer City by Design, “The Office of Youth Development budget was reduced to nearly $0 following the Recession, and only in recent years has the office begun to receive more funding.” In 2024, the Kentucky government will increase the budget to $6 million. In 2003, the budget was 0.1 million, keeping the same for several following years. 

“I mean, I think for me, if this shooting then leads us to make the kind of investments as a city that we should be making, then I think that’s really that’s what we’re trying to do here. We’re trying to capitalize on this horrible thing in order to get positive progress,” Reno-Weber said.