Police in Kentucky say a stray bullet fired during an outdoor fight traveled through the window of a nearby home, killing a 7-year-old who was eating a bedtime snack at his kitchen table.
Louisville Metro Police spokeswoman Lt. Emily McKinley says it appears a fight broke out Sunday night among a group of people in a yard near the boy's home and someone pulled a gun and began firing.
The coroner's office said in a statement Monday that Dequante William Lamarr Hobbs Jr. died from a gunshot wound to the head.
McKinley urged anyone involved in the fight, including the shooter, to come forward. Police say they have no suspects.
McKinley says the boy's mother and grandmother were at the home and called 911. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.Bevin Urges Nonpartisan Response
Hobbs's death has Gov. Matt Bevin taking to social media and promising ideas for a community-driven response.
Although the incident highlights troubling trends in Kentucky's largest city, the governor said in a video posted to Facebook that the scourge of gun violence should concern everyone in the commonwealth.
"This is a record number to this point in any given year, which is on top of the record last year, which was on top of the record the year before that," Bevin lamented. "This kind of insanity is just out of control."
Bevin described the incident as further evidence of a growing disregard for human life from “beginning to end.”
Standing in front of a playground, the governor announced a forthcoming press conference and hinted at the direction he intends to take on the issue: "I have a solution that has nothing to do with politics. It has nothing to do with spending more money. It has nothing to do with more police on the streets. It has everything to do about engaging you, as members of our communities..."
Echoing previous statements, the governor couched the problem as cultural, spiritual, and economic in nature.
Bevin pledged more details in the coming week.