By Joseph Lyell and Cydni Sloan —
Updated Sept. 3 at 1:26 p.m.
A man remains in critical, yet stable condition after an altercation involving marijuana ended with gunfire at the Arch Apartments near campus Aug. 30.
According to the arrest citation, an attempted marijuana “transaction” at the Arch, a U of L housing affiliate, resulted in a fight. One man was shot multiple times before Morrell Artis, 22, called 911.
LMPD homicide and ULPD responded to the scene at the Arch Apartments, near University of Louisville’s campus, after finding a man with multiple gunshot wounds to the abdomen. Police also reportedly found drug paraphernalia, scales, money, a gun and marijuana at the crime scene.
As of Sept. 3, Mitchell says the victim remains in “critical yet stable” condition at the University Hospital. The victim’s name has not been released to the public.
According to LMPD’s spokesman Dwight Mitchell, Artis is in police custody and is charged with first-degree assault and trafficking marijuana.
Officers were led to “an apartment, or an area in the apartment complex” after being flagged down on the 2500 block of South Fourth Street outside the Arch at 6:52 p.m. that day. There, they found the wounded male subject.
Public Information Officer Vadim Dale told a Cardinal reporter there were no suspects at the time of the incident. U of L’s Rave Alert system stated no U of L students were involved and said two suspects were in custody at 7:40 p.m.
LMPD would not comment on student involvement at the time.
As the situation unraveled, some residents questioned security at the apartments and the management’s intentions. For Arch resident Orion Rushin, she’s lost confidence the apartments would make the environment safer for students.
“I talked to one of my friends who also lives here and she said she called the office and they had no idea or were trying to be secretive about it, maybe to not cause chaos. After that day, it was left alone, never heard anything about it,” Rushin said. “I only felt safe because police were everywhere.”
Arch resident Kamri Harris agrees. Harris doesn’t believe the apartments will do anything to make the apartments safer environment.
“It seems like we don’t have any type of security at the Arch so it’s almost as though they don’t care about our safety for real,” Harris said. “If I could move out right now, I honestly, probably would.”
A reporter from The Cardinal, accompanied by a resident of the Arch, was denied access to the Arch’s leasing office and lobby the night of the shooting. Both areas are normally open to residents in the evening.
LMPD’s Homicide Division is leading the investigation with assistance from ULPD.
Photo by Joseph Lyell / The Louisville Cardinal
