Covington Police responded to gunshots two nights in a row this week — on Monday, three children were shot; Tuesday, no one was hit, but nerves were high in the community as police said the suspect from Monday’s shooting was armed and dangerous.
But some Covington residents say that despite the recent episodes of gun violence, they still believe the city is safe. Residents who live in the neighborhood where Monday night’s shooting occurred say gun crime is a rare and unusual occurrence in Covington.
On Monday night at 6:45 p.m., police were dispatched to the 200 block of W. 17th Street to respond to a shooting. A fight broke out between juveniles which culminated gunshots being fired into a crowd. Police located the gunshot victims on Russell Street where a 7, 11, and 14-year old were shot. On Wednesday, a 17-year old suspect turned himself in to the CPD.
On Tuesday, CPD responded to a shots fired call near Garrard Street, just south of 20th Street.
Keyon Riley, a 17-year old student at Holmes, lives in the neighborhood where Monday night’s shooting occurred. Riley said while fighting can be a problem between juveniles in the area, he said guns are not.
“There’s fights almost every day at Holmes, almost every day,” he said. “I think some kids just don’t agree with each other and then a fight can break out.”
Riley said incidents like the one that occurred on Monday night are rare for Covington and “don’t usually happen.”
“From all the time I’ve lived here, nothing like this has ever really happened, but it did happen,” Riley said. “The day it happened, I walked by a few hours beforehand and when I heard about it. It scared me a little bit.”
WCPO’s Courtney Francisco interviewed a teenage girl who witnessed the scene on Monday. The girl said she was best friend’s with someone who was involved in the fight.
“You got to know how to fight living in Covington,” she told Francisco.
During a press conference on Tuesday morning, City Commissioner Ron Washington echoed a sentiment similar to Riley’s. Washington emphasized that Covington is a safe city, although violent incidents do sometimes occur.
“For people that come, work, play and live in our city, it’s a safe place. However, sometimes we have problems and that’s why we have a very professional police force,” Washington said.
Covington is a city whose violent crime reporting statistics have decreased over the past decade, from 2010 to 2020. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations Crime Data Explorer, violent crime has trended downward in Covington since 2010.
Per the graph below, there were a low of 154 violent crimes reported by the CPD in 2020, down from the 322 reported in 2010.
Covington is a city with over 40,000 people. Large, urban areas typically have higher violent crime statistics often contributed to demographic factors such as population density, lower median incomes, and a higher percentage of renters as compared to home ownership. Covington has a higher violent crime rate than smaller, rural areas in Kentucky, but it’s also the fifth largest city in the state.
“I think one of the important messages that can come across is what you can do with your children,” Washington said Tuesday. “You should hug them and hold them and tell them that they are cared for and their love. But it’s safe. They’re safe, and it’s going to be okay.”
