Toddler Girl and Her Father Fatally Shot in Double Shooting at Louisville Home

Lorenz Duchamps
By Lorenz Duchamps
August 15, 2020US News
share
Toddler Girl and Her Father Fatally Shot in Double Shooting at Louisville Home
Tynekia Randolph, 3, from Louisville, Kentucky in a file photo. (GoFundMe)

Authorities in Kentucky are investigating after a toddler girl and her father were both fatally shot while they were inside a family-owned home in Louisville’s Jacobs neighborhood Friday afternoon.

The father in his 20s has been identified as Brandon Waddles and was found dead on the scene after police arrived at the home on Kahlert Avenue shortly after 1 p.m., a Louisville Metro Police Department spokeswoman said, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.

The 3-year-old girl was rushed to the Norton Children’s Hospital with undisclosed gunshot wounds and died to her injuries shortly upon arrival. Officials have ruled both of the victims’ their cause of death as a homicide.

“My beautiful niece, Trinity [Randolph] was murdered at her grandmother’s home, shot to death at only 3 years old,” Tyasia Lashay, a family member of the victim wrote on a GoFundMe fundraiser set up in support of the victims’ family.

“A fun loving energetic soul whose life was snatched along with her fathers,” Lashay continued.

Chief Deputy of Investigations at the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office, Scott Russ, said Waddles is the father of Trinity, the Courier-Journal reported.

“I got the call that my grandchild wasn’t here anymore,” the girl’s grandfather, Tyronn Howlett told agency WLKY News. “It’s just sad and senseless.”

“Children don’t have anything to do with it,” he continued. “They are innocent people, and they should never be in whatever an adult has going on between that.”

Detectives spent hours investigating in the neighborhood, knocking doors, speaking with residents, and trying to figure out a motive for yet another senseless homicide in Louisville, a WLKY News reporter at the scene said.

NTD Photo
A gun lies on the ground inside a police barricade following a shooting in Jeffersontown, Kentucky in this file photo taken in 2018. (Timothy D. Easley/AP Photo)

Among many other U.S. states and cities, Louisville has seen a surge in homicide cases for 2020 compared to last year’s statistics. Friday’s fatal shootings marked the 97th homicide this year and the numbers of shootings and homicides are on track to break the city’s record in 2016 when 117 murders were reported.

Christopher 2X, a community activist whose nonprofit organization “Game Changers” promotes early childhood education with the goal of positively transforming the lives of young people and keeping them away from violence on the streets, told Wave 3 News it is really troubling to see the total amount of homicides from Aug. 1 to Aug. 14 already add up to 16 fatal shootings in just a two week period.

He added that he is worried seeing that “more individuals who are connected to the shootings [are] younger,” and the majority of those involved in the fatal shootings are people in their mid-20s.

“The shootings that are occurring at an alarming volume right now, that’s clear evidence that individuals who partake in shootings don’t fear consequences,” Christopher previously told the outlet.

ntd newsletter icon
Sign up for NTD Daily
What you need to know, summarized in one email.
Stay informed with accurate news you can trust.
By registering for the newsletter, you agree to the Privacy Policy.
Comments