2 juveniles arrested in death of JCPS student shot, killed at bus stop

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Police have arrested two juveniles in connection to the death of 16-year-old Tyree Smith, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in September.

Sources said the two arrested are under the age of 18. No other details are currently known.

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Tyree Smith was killed on Sept. 22 while waiting for his school bus at a bus stop in the Russell neighborhood at the corner of Chestnut Street and Dr. W.J. Hodge Street.

Two other students were shot during the incident. They survived their injuries.

Hours after Smith was killed, LMPD released a picture of a Jeep that investigators had been looking for in connection to the shooting. The picture was taken in the St. Matthews neighborhood the morning of Sept. 23.

Jefferson County Public Schools released a statement after the arrests regarding ongoing youth violence and the impact Smith’s death had on the community.

“What happened to Tyree Smith was tragic and left our JCPS family heartbroken,” the statement reads. “His death impacted our entire community and raised awareness about the need for change. Youth violence is an issue we all must address. There is no single solution, or perfect answer. But through collaboration and unity we can find new avenues to bring hope to young people across our city.”

Chyla Burks lives close to where the shooting happened. She held rags to one of the victims who survived the shooting.

She was worried police would never find who was responsible.

“There’s too much going on out here for me to say, ‘Yes, I absolutely- no I did not, I did not at all,” she said. “Not one time did I think they were going to find out, no time soon, that they were going to find anything out about this.”

She said the news of the arrests gives her mixed emotions.

“I’m sad at the fact that these are babies and they’re all out here killing each other,” Burks said. “But at the same time I’m glad because you could’ve done this to somebody else. You would’ve done this to somebody else. You had no remorse that you literally shot up a whole bus stop full of kids that had nothing to do with whatever the situation was.”

Tyree’s family said that he was not the intended target of the shooting.

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