Covington community looking to heal, find solutions after child, teenager shot and killed in one week

COVINGTON, Ky. — Violence took center stage at the Calvary Baptist Church Thursday night as the community works to heal from a tragic week.

Nearly 100 people sat in the pews listening to scripture and praying for those impacted by gun violence. The service was hosted by several Latonia churches.

“We want to remind the community that there are people here in the community who are concerned for them and enter into this grief with them,” said Senior Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church Eric Mounts.

The service focused on three things.

“It's a service of lament, comfort and hope,” he said.

A 2-year-old was shot and killed on Monday. The following day, 14-year-old Amani Smith was shot and killed and another teenager was hurt.

Pastors from several churches touched on these shootings. One pastor said a teenager told him he saw Smith die.

The shootings were also brought up at the Covington Independent Public Schools Board of Education meeting Thursday night.

Several people in attendance expressed their concerns about Tuesday’s shooting and the school threats that followed.

“Children should not have to worry about their safety at school, that shouldn’t be the priority. Families shouldn’t have to worry about their children’s safety at school,” Heather said.

“Trust between the community and Holmes has been broken, and it is our responsibility to repair that,” Holmes High School Teacher Nathaniel Bell said.

One of Amani’s cousins, Charles Kirtley, also addressed the board. He graduated from Holmes in 1996. He wants to start a program where alumni come back to the schools and speak with the students. He said 100 alumni have expressed interest in participating.

“Things have got to change,” he said.

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Board Chair Tom Haggard said the entire district and community is grieving Amani’s death.

“Death rarely makes any sense, but when it deals with the young it feels especially cruel,” he said. “Adults must do all that we can do to restore a sense of community and chart a bold pathway for achieving hopes and dreams for the children for our community. We have a lot of work to do.”

Haggard attended the prayer service and spoke with people in attendance.

Trinity United Methodist Church Pastor Lawrence Karow said the churches need to be actively involved in the process of healing, but he wants the community to come up with some solutions to the violence.

“The community needs to own the solution, not the institutionalized church, we can be. We can assist them, we can resource them, but we can't do it for them,” he said.

At the board meeting some parents suggested some solutions that could improve safety. They include requiring clear backpacks, students wearing an ID at all times, and getting rid of lockers so they can’t store anything dangerous inside.