A JCPS student shot in a double shooting at PRP High School remains in critical condition

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Family members of a JCPS student shot before a football game at Pleasure Ridge Park High School are pleading for answers and an end to the violence taking place in the city.

As of Monday, WAVE can confirm that the young man who bled to death from gunshot wounds in the PRP High School parking lot is a JCPS student.

As he continues to fight for survival, his family has asked that we not reveal his name.

“He’s not out of the water yet. We still don’t know,” said Will Pitts, the shooting victim’s cousin. “We hope for the best.”

LMPD found a 17-year-old Valley High School student in the PRP High School parking lot after shots rang out during a football game on Sunday around 8 p.m. All in all, Sunday night’s second minor shot is expected to survive.

Nearby gunfire led to pure chaos, sending fans and players on the pitch scrambling for cover.

“The first thing that went through my head was, wow, I hope this isn’t anyone I know,” Pitts said.

This thought was quickly met with a harsh reality. Pitts told WAVE that his young cousin, described as a fun-loving, gentle giant, is in the hospital with an amputated leg.

“When I go there and look at him lying in bed, those are images I can’t erase,” Pitts said.

Sunday night’s shooting struck a chord with Pitts. For me as a parent, this echoed the recent scare surrounding his son, a Trinity High School football player who found himself at the stadium under false gun threat just last week.

“I actually thought about it as a parent: ‘Should I send my son to games? Can I trust security or the person organizing these events to ensure that the appropriate level of security is maintained? Or maybe they can prevent such events from happening at all?” Pitts said.

That’s a question Pitts asks himself every day as the founder of the intervention organization Shoot Balls, Not Guns.

“You know, we have guns in the hands of children, the blind leading the blind,” Pitts said. “That’s why I’m doing this with the slogan ‘Shoot the ball, not the gun.’ Give children alternatives or other ways of looking at life. You don’t have to steal, you don’t have to rob, you don’t have to kill.”

With Louisville’s stunning fight against gun violence hitting a little too close to home, Pitts emphasized the need for a community response to the gun violence impacting the city. There have been 119 homicides in Louisville this year, and the death toll is approaching pandemic levels. There were 291 non-fatal shootings.

“This is not welcome in our communities. This is not welcome in the city of Louisville,” Pitts said. “It doesn’t just look bad for a specific group of people, but for the entire city of Louisville. You can’t even go to a football game without fear of getting shot.

There are still many unanswered questions about Pitts’ cousin, including: who pulled the trigger. Police have not yet made any arrests directly related to the shooting.

“For anyone who knows what’s going on, I understand the snitch thing, but it’s not about snitching. It’s about humanity. It’s about loving each other. It’s about doing better. It’s about wanting better,” Pitts said in a request for information on the matter. “Because the moment this happens to your relative, watch the snitch fall out the window. Because you’ll be standing here like I’m begging for the same thing. Someone say something. Someone help us. You know, if not, you know your child could be next at the hands of the same person who committed this crime. So we must do better simply out of love for humanity.”

This shooting remains under investigation and anyone with information or video can call the anonymous tip line at 502-574-LMPD (5673) or LMPD crime advice portal.

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