Addressing violence in Louisville, Governor Matt Bevin announced his plan to stop crime from happening in Louisville at a meeting held at Western Middle School.
The plan, as described by Bevin, includes asking faith-based volunteers to walk adopted blocks in the five zip codes where he said the majority of murders have taken place over the past few years.
He designated 40202, 40210, 40211, 40212 and 40215 as the target locations asking groups of three to ten people to commit to a full year of walking their chosen block two to seven times per week. The governor asked volunteers to pray for the residents during each walk. The plan is for each group to begin their walks at 7 p.m.
In recent weeks there have been several homicides, including that of
7-year-old boy Dequante Hobbs and more recently a
shooting near the Big Four Bridge which resulted in in a homicide and others injured.
Bevin did say to those gathered at the school’s auditorium that his suggestions are not a magical solution but he is grateful to those who came with open minds and hearts.
Pastor of Highlands Baptist Church called the meeting a "waste of time" and said he was "embarrassed for Christianity."
Some leaving the meeting said they were expecting a dialogue and got a monologue.
Some questioned the governor’s unwillingness to add funding to programs that they felt would impact the rising violent crime rate in Louisville.