Louisville homicides to date at 10-year high

Louisville has begun 2015 with its highest homicide rate in at least a decade, according to police data.

There have been 14 criminal homicides this year, compared to two at this time a year ago. The toll includes a particularly violent weekend in which four people were killed.

Mayor Greg Fischer said that while he doesn't like to compare only six weeks of data, he's concerned about the numbers.

"We're off to an unusual start," Fischer said Monday, noting that while the cases don't appear to be connected, many of them involved some sort of drug activity or trafficking.

Since 2005, Louisville Metro Police records show an average of five criminal homicides by this point of the year. Two years ago marked the lowest number of homicides at this time, with one, while 2008 had nine, according to the data.

Fischer cited the ongoing efforts of the Office of Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods, which works to reduce violent crime by improving youths' lives with the help of community partners.

"We're trying to disrupt the system of crime," Fischer said, "and we're going to continue to do so."

The family of one of the people killed this weekend gathered Monday to speak out against the slaying.

With her tears wetting a framed photo of her son, Laura Combs pleaded for answers in the shooting death of her oldest child and his fiancee Feb. 7.

Aaron Combs, 30, and longtime girlfriend Julie Clemons, 28, were found shot to death Saturday morning in their Algonquin home in the 1800 block of West Hill Street, police said. Their deaths were the 11th and 12th criminal homicides of the year.

"My son was not an angel," Laura Combs said at a Monday news conference. "But he was turning his life around."

She said her son had battled substance abuse but moved from Clark County, Ind., last year "to start over."

Community activist Christoper 2X, who convened the news conference, said that despite continuous "good faith" efforts to reduce homicides, violence is a "complex issue" without a quick fix.

"Are there any real answers or solutions that I can offer?" he asked Monday. "No."

Also on Saturday, three teens were sent to the hospital with gunshot wounds stemming from an incident in the 2600 block of Adrienne Way, close to Western High School. One of them, an 18-year-old, later died.

Then on Sunday, Martel Hall, 29, was shot to death in the 3400 block of Powell Avenue near Churchill Downs, said Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Dave Wood.

RELATED | Four killed, six injured in weekend shootings

Police said over the weekend that detectives working the cases do not believe the shootings are related.

There were 55 criminal homicides in all of 2014, according to police data. That was up from 48 slayings in 2013, but down from a recent high of 71 reported by the department in 2008, according to FBI data.

Bishop Dennis Lyons of Gospel Missionary Baptist Church said the recent violence should unite people in outrage to help work toward a solution.

"This is a terrible page to have written in 2015, in the history of our people," Lyons said. "It's a sad page."

He said Monday he planned to attend the Jefferson County Board of Education meeting later that day to advocate for more social skills and character-building instruction in the classroom, especially for kids who don't have positive role-models at home.

"We're trying to look for avenues where we can possibly intervene with the next generation to teach some character," he said.

Of the 14 homicides this year, police have cleared eight of the cases. Police had not identified any suspects or made any arrests in any of the weekend shootings as of Monday afternoon, according to police spokesman Dwight Mitchell.

Laura Combs said Monday she has no idea who killed her son and future daughter-in-law and called on anyone with information to come forth.

"Whoever killed my son and his fiancee, do the right thing and turn yourself in," Laura Combs said. "He didn't deserve to die."

C-J reporter Allison Ross contributed to this story. Reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at (502) 582-4989. Follow him on Twitter at @MattGlo.

Criminal homicides

Here are the totals for criminal homicides each year through Feb. 9, according to police data

2005: 3

2006: 6

2007: 7

2008: 9

2009: 6

2010: 8

2011: 6

2012: 3

2013: 1

2014: 2

2015: 14

Source: Louisville Metro Police Department

HOW TO HELP

Police encourage anyone with information about any of the shootings to call the anonymous police tip line at (502) 574-LMPD.