Phillip M. Bailey

@phillipmbailey

Three University of Louisville students in their early 20s were shot near campus, according to Metro Police, during a party celebrating Lamar Jackson's Heisman Trophy win on early Sunday morning.

Two of the individuals shot are U of L football players James Hearns and Henry Famurewa, WHAS-11 reported.

U of L spokesman John Karman would not confirm if any of the victims were student-athletes at the school, however. He said the university is not releasing any of the students’ names at this time.

Yusuf Shakir, who coached Hearns at Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, Fla., said Hearns, who plays linebacker, told him he had been shot in the elbow but that “he’s OK” and "knows it could have been a lot worse.”

“If you go through something like that, you’re happy to be alive," Shakir said.

A 19-year-old student who attends Jefferson Community Technical College said he witnessed the shooting, which took place at The Retreat, an off-campus apartment complex close to U of L's Belknap campus. He said he was at a party with U of L athletes who were celebrating Jackson's Heisman Trophy.

The JCTC student said he told police an argument ensued at the door before it eventually continued into the street.

“A few minutes later I heard chaos,” said the JCTC student, who asked his name not be shared. “It was five or six guys just going at it, fighting on one side and then I see a flash come from the other side. Then I just took cover.”

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Police said the shooting occurred around 2 a.m. Sunday in the 1000 block of Manor Park Drive, but alerts from the University of Louisville warning students to "avoid the area" did not go out until more than two hours later, according to multiple sources who shared the university's correspondence.

When officers arrived, they located a male and female that had been shot. Both were taken to University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A third victim arrived a short time later at Jewish Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries from a gunshot wound.

Police determined that all three injuries occurred at the same location. The two male victims are 23 and 20 years old, and the female victim is 20, according to police.

U of L athletics department spokesman Kenny Klein declined to comment for this story.

U of L sophomore Jayvon Smith told WHAS-11 he lives two doors down from the scene where students were gathering and celebrating Jackson’s Heisman Trophy into the early morning hours. He said people started knocking on his door, saying people were shooting.

"It’s always someone who comes from out in the city that usually have weapons or that mean to do any type of harm or violence," Smith told WHAS-11, "but I just think the city of Louisville is really dangerous right now. Crime is just happening, and it's sad that it has to be involved on campus too."

Shakir said Hearns told him "some local guys decided to crash the party," and that one of them "started shooting into the crowd."

Nearly 500 people have been shot in Louisville through November this year, according to Police Chief Steve Conrad, which is an all-time record for the city. There have also been a record number of homicides this year with 120 investigated citywide.

Chelsea Roy, leasing and marketing manager at The Retreat, said the apartment complex is cooperating with LMPD in the investigation and referred all other questions to police. Roy would not confirm the time of the incident or any other details.

The LMPD Major Crimes Unit is investigating. There are no suspects at this time.

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Reporters Danielle Lerner, Tim Sullivan, Steve Jones and Jeff Greer and producer Taylor Riley contributed to this story.