Tyrese Garvin, 20, from Kentucky was walking home around 6 p.m. on June 23 after he witnessed the birth of his twin babies when a group of teenagers opened fire. Some days later, he was pronounced dead at University Hospital, the same place where he had become a new father,reported WAVE 3.
“He was very excited at becoming a father,” a relative named Gail told WAVE 3. “Then, something like this happens and his children will never get to know him. That’s sad.”
According to the doctors that took care of Garvin, he suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his body and head. The family tried to contact the best trauma surgeons and neurosurgeons, but doctors told the family “there is not going to be a recovery.”
According to community activist and family spokesman Christopher 2X, Garvin spent five days in the ICU at University Hospital. While he was on life support, the twins’ mother took the babies from the maternity ward to see their father in his hospital room.His babies rested next to him in bed as he took his final breath.
“It’s just a hard impact for me because I know I’ll never see him walk through that door and act silly with me anymore, but this is just so senseless,” Kathleen Roberts, Garvin’s grandmother.
“Louisville is in a war and we should not be like that taking each other’s life,” Roberts added.
However, days after the shooting of Garvin, Louisville Metro Police officers arrested three juveniles who range in age from 14 to 17. Due to the age of the suspects, their names and charges have not been released.
“He was not the target of the issue, but go back to the kids,” 2X, told WAVE 3. “They’re so angry and they feel if you might be from this neighborhood might as well just do you like this.”
According to Louisville Metro Police, the community has seen a disturbing upswing in violent crime committed by young people. The Juveniles have reportedly been stealing cars in neighborhoods across the city and using those cars in drive-by shootings. Some of the stolen vehicles already had weapons in them, which the teens used in the shootings.
While caring for Garvin in the ICU at the hospital, his family has also visited other victims of gun violence. His relatives said they are deeply troubled by how many gunshot victims are at University Hospital right now.
“They’ve taken some of my life with them,” Cleatra Garvin, Garvin’s grandmother, told WAVE 3. “I just tell them to stop. Stop the violence.”
However, the police asked the public to be vigilant in preventing crime by locking their car doors and securing their guns.
