A young mom of two has been shot dead while walking her child to school in Louisville, Kentucky — sparking a furious tirade from the city’s police chief against the “absolutely pathetic” killers.
Redaja Williams, 23, was taking her child to the bus stop at around 8 a.m. Wednesday when she was shot and later died from her injuries in the University of Louisville Health Hospital.
Her child wasn’t injured in the shooting, the second to take place at the bus stop just west of Downtown Louisville in the span of a week, WDRB reports.
“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,” Louisville Metro Police Chief Paul Humphrey fumed during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s absolutely unacceptable that these types of incidents have happened now twice in the last week,” he said. “This is the second time in a week that we’re talking about this, and it’s absolutely pathetic.”
The killer is still at large, Humphrey said. He is described as a young black male wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and black sweatpants, and a security footage grab of the suspect has been released.
On Wednesday, police arrested and questioned a 15-year-old boy near Shawnee High School, but it was later determined that he didn’t pull the trigger, even though he was at the scene of the shooting, Humphrey said.
Several children were at the bus stop at the time of the shooting.
“It is unacceptable that people simply trying to go to school must fear for their safety,” Humphrey said.
Homicide rates in Louisville are down in recent years, Humphrey stressed, but added that more still needs to be done.
“It’s not where it needs to be,” he admitted.
Williams leaves behind two kids, ages 2 and 7, her family said.
“My niece was killed yesterday in front of her daughter and her niece and all the other children who was on the bus,” Williams’ aunt, Donna Cole, told a press conference on Thursday.
“I’m traumatized. I live in fear. Not that they’re going to do anything to me but to another person’s child.”
The shooting came just six days after a gunman opened fire at the same bus stop on Aug. 7, the first day back for Jefferson County Public Schools.
A 15-year-old is facing 34 charges including wanton endangerment and possession of a handgun by a minor, WDRB reported.
Louisville Mayor, Democrat Craig Greenberg, also voiced frustration over the shooting as he appeared alongside Chief Humphrey at Wednesday’s press conference.
“My final emotion that I’ve had all day is I’m angry. I’m angry at the individual who killed this woman [on Wednesday],” he said. “I’m angry at the two people who shot at the same bus stop last week. I’m angry that people still do this in 2025 in our city.”
