JCPS student shot in PRP High School double shooting still in critical condition

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

As of Monday, WAVE can confirm the young man left bleeding out from gunshot wounds in the parking lot of PRP High School is a JCPS student.

As he continues his fight to survive, his family asked that we not release his name.

"He's not out the water yet. We still don't know," said Will Pitts, cousin to the shooting victim. "We're hoping for the best."

LMPD found the 17-year-old Valley High School student in the PRP High School parking lot after shots rang out during a football game around 8 p.m. Sunday. At last word, the other minor shot Sunday night is expected to survive.

The nearby gunshots led to pure chaos, sending fans and players on the field running for cover.

"The first thing that went through my head was, wow, I hope it's not anyone I know," said Pitts.

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

"When I go up there and I look at him laying in his bed, those are images that I can't erase," said Pitts.

Sunday night's shooting has struck many chords for Pitts. As a parent it resonated with the recent scare regarding his son, a Trinity High School football player, who found himself in a stadium under a false threat of a gun just last week.

"I actually thought about that myself as a parent, 'Do I send my son to the games? Can I trust security or whoever's hosting those events to make sure there's an adequate amount of security? Or can they even stop these things from happening?'" said Pitts.

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

"We have guns in the hands of babies, you know, the blind leading the blind," said Pitts. "That's why I do with the 'Shoot Balls, Not Guns.' Give kids the alternatives or other ways to see life. You don't have to steal, you don't have to rob, you don't have to kill."

As Louisville's staggering struggle with gun violence hits just a little too close to home, Pitts emphasized a need for a community response to the gun violence impacting the city. Louisville has seen 119 homicides so far this year, trending toward pandemic-era numbers. There have 291 non-fatal shootings.

"This is not welcome in our communities. This is not welcome in the city of Louisville," said Pitts. "This doesn't just look bad on a certain group of people, it looks bad on the whole city of Louisville. You can't even attend a football game without worried about getting shot.

There are still many questions left unanswered in Pitts' cousin's case, including who pulled the trigger. Police have not yet made any arrests directly connected to the shooting.

"To anybody 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," said Pitts, in a plea for information on the case. "Because the very moment it happens to your relative, watch how the snitch thing goes out the window. Because you'll be standing here like I am begging for the same thing. Somebody please say something. Somebody please help us. You know, if not, you know it just might be your child next at the hands of the same person who committed this crime. So we have to do better simply for the love of humanity."

This shooting is still being investigated and anyone with information or video can call the anonymous tip line at 502-574-LMPD (5673) or use the LMPD Crime Tip Portal