Mom-of-two shot dead by 'pathetic' killer while walking children to school
Redaja Williams, 23, died on Wednesday around 8am in the Russell neighborhood of the Kentucky city.
There are several bus stops, a YMCA and two schools in the area Williams was killed. Dozens of children watched on in horror as she fell to the ground.
First responders rushed to the scene and took Williams to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her daughter was thankfully unharmed.
'It is unacceptable that people simply trying to go to school must fear for their safety,' Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) Chief Paul Humphrey said, WDRB reported.
'Kids should be able to go to school - go to the bus stop in the morning - without any fear of gun violence, without any fear of having to run for their life in the morning.'
The suspect, who police say is a black man who was wearing a red sweatshirt and black sweatpants, is still at large.
'She was innocent, she was a bystander,' Williams' good friend Angel Mitchell told WDRB.
Williams' two kids are just two and seven years old. Her family has spoken out about her horrifying death to demand justice for their loved one who died too soon.
Her sister Lavett, who was with Williams when she was shot, described her as a 'kind-hearted' mother who was not afraid to speak her mind.
'But most of all, she was caring and very loving to her family,' the heartbroken sister said moments before she started to sob.
'And I'm so devastated because I had to watch my sister lay on that ground and take her last breath.
'And there was nothing I can do about it.'
'She was a really outgoing young lady, she loved people and kids, she had her ways about doing things, but she was loved by her family,' her grandfather Bruce Simmons, told WLKY.
'I'm her granddad dad, and I loved her dearly. I am going to miss her.'
Williams' family and friends called her 'Juicy,' but her aunt Donna Cole wants her real name to never be forgotten.
'But her name is Redaja Williams. Say it. Remember it,' she passionately asserted during a Thursday press conference attended by community leaders.
'My heart goes out to every parent, every child, that was on that bus stop,' Louisville Metro Councilwoman Tammy Hawkins said during the conference, touching upon a broader issue of violence within the Louisville community.
She said there needs to be a strengthened relationship between community members and the LMPD in order for future tragedies to be prevented.
Williams' gut-wrenching death is the second bus stop shooting within just a week to shake the Russell neighborhood.
On August 7, the first day of school for Jefferson County Public Schools, two tens fired shots at each other at a bus stop.
Just as Wednesday's incident, dozens of children looked on in terror as they waited for their buses to arrive.
'I'm scared to walk around because of all the shooting,' a 10-year-old boy from the neighborhood told WDRB.
Two 15-year-olds were arrested in relation to the shooting, each facing 34 charges.
'This is a traumatic event for so many people that changes neighborhoods for the worse,' chief Humphrey told WDRB.
'The is the second time in a week that we're talking about this, and it's absolutely pathetic.'
One of the teens was actually arrested after Williams' shooting, but homicide detectives determined he was allegedly involved in the one a week prior, but did not pull the trigger on Williams.
'I'm outraged. Not just today for Redaja, but for every child whose family I've comforted,' Cole said at the Thursday press conference.
'Let me tell you something. They can't be more outraged for us than we are. Boots on the ground. We're talking about what needs to be done, get in your communities.'
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