A woman was hospitalized early Tuesday after being shot in the leg in Louisville's Fern Creek neighborhood, according to police. Louisville Metro Police officers responded to a reported shooting at 12:50 a.m. in the 5500 block of Hames Trace, where they found the woman with a gunshot wound to her leg.
She was taken to UofL Hospital, and her injuries are considered non-life-threatening, according to WDRB. The case has been handed to LMPD's Non-Fatal Shooting Unit, according to WDRB. WHAS11 also covered the shooting.
No suspect description or circumstances behind the shooting had been released as of Tuesday, and it remains unclear whether the woman knew whoever fired the shots. The Hames Trace corridor falls under the jurisdiction of LMPD's 7th Division, headquartered at 7201 Outer Loop, per Louisville Metro Government.
A Street With a Violent History
This is not the first time gunfire has struck Hames Trace. In July 2018, a 21-year-old man was fatally shot at an apartment complex in the 5300 block of the same street during what police said was a drug deal, a case that led to murder charges against a then-19-year-old suspect, as reported by WDRB at the time.
Investigators working non-fatal shooting cases can request command-approved forensic medical examinations under LMPD Standard Operating Procedure 8.43, a protocol used to document trauma and gather medical evidence for prosecution. The unit assigned to Tuesday's case has posted results before: in June 2026, the Non-Fatal Shooting Unit arrested a 29-year-old suspect on attempted murder charges after a non-fatal shooting on Bardstown Road.
Citywide Numbers Show a Decline, But Not an End
Citywide non-fatal shooting figures for 2026 and survivor totals for 2020 through 2025 were not included in the cited sources.
The Fern Creek shooting comes as Mayor Greenberg's administration pushes its “Safe Louisville” strategy, which set an explicit target of cutting violent crime, including non-fatal shootings and homicides, by at least 15% annually through 2030. Gun violence generates public costs.
Fern Creek has otherwise been a focus of civic investment lately; Louisville Metro Government broke ground on December 15, 2022, on a new 18,000-square-foot public library branch in the neighborhood, a project Hoodline covered in its piece on the Fern Creek library's 2027 comeback. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to leave anonymous tips through LMPD's crime tip line at 502-574-LMPD (5673) or through the department's online crime tip portal.
