Louisville Community Mourns the Loss of 16-Year-Old Achilles Seward Following Tragic Shooting
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A family is left heartbroken and a community in mourning after the devastating and sudden death of 16-year-old Achilles Seward, who was tragically shot and killed on Ridgecrest Road in the Newburg area last Monday evening.
What should have been an ordinary night ended in tragedy as officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) responded to reports of a shooting. When they arrived, they found Achilles suffering from a gunshot wound. Despite emergency efforts, the teen was pronounced dead at the scene.
Now, a week later, his family is still reeling from the unthinkable loss and pleading for answers. Kindre Seward, Achilles’ mother, spoke through grief as she tried to find the words to describe the pain that now defines each day.
“He was my baby, and now he’s gone,” she said, her voice heavy with sorrow. “This pain is a pain I wouldn’t wish on anyone. I never knew there was a pain and emptiness, a hole left. A piece of me is gone and isn’t ever coming back, and that’s not fair.”
Achilles was out with friends the night he was killed. His sister, Makia Seward, described the moment the family’s world was turned upside down.
“It just feels like a dream,” Makia said. “It was so sudden, out of nowhere that it just should have never happened. He should still be here. We feel like this is the worst week of our lives.”
The grief is suffocating, but the family is trying to hold on to the joyful memories of a young man whose light shone brightly in their lives. Achilles, they said, was full of energy, charisma, and confidence.
“Achilles was like a bright star. He lit up any room that he walked in,” Makia recalled with a bittersweet smile. “He was smart, very handsome, very conceited, very sure of himself. He was always himself, unapologetically.”
As they struggle to process the devastating loss, the Seward family is calling on the public to help bring Achilles’ killer to justice. His brother, Dominick Seward, made a direct plea during a recent interview.
“Somebody out here knows what happened to my brother and they’re not saying nothing,” Dominick said. “We need justice for him. We need somebody in jail for it, for sure.”
So far, no arrests have been made, and no suspects have been named publicly. The LMPD Homicide Unit continues to lead the investigation and is asking anyone with information to come forward.
This senseless act of violence is part of a troubling pattern of youth-related gun deaths in Louisville, a city grappling with the rising toll of homicides. For the Seward family, the statistics don’t matter—their reality is now a daily battle with heartbreak, unanswered questions, and a life without their beloved son and brother.
The family is not only mourning but also calling on the community to protect its youth and prevent more families from facing the same pain.
“There’s too many young people dying like this,” Kindre said. “We can’t keep losing our babies. Achilles had dreams, a future. He had so much more to live for.”
As they plan to lay Achilles to rest, the Sewards are holding on to faith, community support, and the hope that justice will come.
Anyone with information regarding the shooting is urged to contact the anonymous Crime Tip Hotline at 502-574-LMPD (5673) or submit a tip through the LMPD Crime Tip Portal. Even the smallest piece of information could make a difference.
Achilles Seward was more than a name in a headline—he was a son, a brother, a friend, and a young man with a bright future. His family wants him to be remembered not for the way he died, but for the love, laughter, and light he brought into the lives of everyone who knew him.
