License Plate Readers Failed to Pick Up Suspect’s Vehicle in Lexington Mass Shooting

License plate cameras did not capture the vehicle suspected of being involved in a mass shooting in Lexington, according to the owner of the building where the shooting took place.

Chad Walker, a city council candidate and owner of Walker Properties, which owns the building at 701 National Ave., held a news conference Thursday to provide updates on the investigation and give nearby business owners a chance to speak . Walker said there are a few Flock cameras in the neighborhood, but none captured the suspect vehicle.

The closest Flock camera to the scene of the shooting is near Winchester Road and Walton Avenue, according to the Lexington Police Department.

“That was a blind spot, so we’re going to fix that,” Walker said.

There are plans to add more license plate readers along with security cameras in the neighborhood, Walker said. Surveillance cameras in the area helped police investigate the shooting.

“The intent will be, and already is to some degree, that if a vehicle enters a neighborhood, from the time it enters the neighborhood to the time it leaves, we can track them,” Walker said .

Walker also provided a timeline of response time after the shooting. He said many first responders were on the scene within four minutes of the shooting and secured the scene an additional two minutes later.

The timeline provided by Walker was:

• 12:17:28: Filming is underway

• 12:20:52: The first Lexington police officer arrives on scene

• 12:21:00: More police officers arrive at the scene

• 12:26:19: The scene has been secured

“This is still a good neighborhood.”

Several neighborhood business owners spoke at the news conference about their reaction to the shooting. Lauren Higdon, owner and co-founder of Centered Holistic Health, has been in the neighborhood for 12 years and said it’s a great place to live and work.

Higdon argued that the shooting is not a reflection of the community, but more a reflection of an epidemic of gun violence.

“I don’t feel like it’s isolated. It is not isolated in our community, in our city, in our state, in our world,” Higdon said. “Gun violence happens every day. It happened in my family and now in my neighborhood.”

The shooting was the ninth homicide in Lexington this year. By August 9 of last year, the city had reported 13 homicides, according to police.

In all of 2023, Lexington reported 24 homicides, down from the record year of 2022, when there were 44 murders. The last time Lexington reported 24 or fewer homicides in a year was in 2018, according to Lexington police data dating back to 2008.

Jeff Newman, owner of Blue Door Smokehouse, described the area as the best neighborhood in Lexington. Blue Door Smokehouse, along with all the other businesses in the neighborhood, decided to stay open Friday to help the community.

“We all felt very safe and we felt it was our duty to the people who rely on this neighborhood for their entertainment, their shopping, different services,” Newman said.

Derek DeFranco, co-owner of Mirror Twin Brewing, hopes people continue to visit the neighborhood

“This is still a good neighborhood,” DeFranco said. “I’ve been here eight years and this is the first time we’ve seen anything like this happen.”

Building owners: Mass shooting and El Cid evacuation not related

The El Cid restaurant was evacuated from the building where the mass shooting took place just four days later. But Walker said Thursday that the restaurant’s evacuation was not related to the shooting and that he is not charging the restaurant’s owner, Jesus de la Fuente, with the incident.

Walker had been trying to get the restaurant out of the building for months. In May, a Fayette County District Court judge allowed Walker to repossess the building; The owners of El Cid, Silvia SRL, appealed, but the appeal was rejected. Walker had given de la Fuente until Monday to leave.

On Tuesday, the building was repossessed by Walker Properties.

“Unfortunately, that’s how the courts work sometimes,” Walker said. “Make no mistake, we did not evict them because of this event. It just happened to coincide.”

El Cid opened under different ownership in 2021; de la Fuente bought it in 2023. Walker said de la Fuente failed to pay rent, leading to the eviction.

Additionally, unbeknownst to Walker, de la Fuente had been operating the place as a club rather than a restaurant for several weeks.

“I think in this situation, it just didn’t fit,” Walker said. “That with the lack of communication and the rent being late, it was just writing on the wall that this was going to happen.”

Renovations to the building are already underway in anticipation of a new tenant. As Walker searches for a new occupant of the building, he keeps the shooting victims at the forefront of his mind.

“We will never forget what happened here,” Walker said. “The victims remain in our hearts as they and everyone in Lexington search for answers.”

Lexington police continue to investigate the shooting and the FBI is assisting.

Police ask anyone with information to call (859) 258-3600. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Bluegrass Crime Stoppers by calling 859-253-2020 or online at www.bluegrasscrimestoppers.com or through the P3 Tips app available at www.p3tips.com.