LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A crowd of people demanding justice for 17-year-old shooting victim Sergio Alexis Villarados rallied in downtown Lexington for hours on Tuesday.
The group composed of family and friends met in front of the Fayette County Circuit Courthouse with signs bearing pictures of Villarados and started chanting his name around 9 a.m.
Lexington police say they found Villarados in a flipped car near Lexington Cemetery on October 28. He died of gunshot wounds, according to the Fayette County Coroner’s Office.
The hours-long rally and march on Tuesday was meant to raise awareness about the investigation with the hopes someone comes forward with information to arrest the person(s) who killed Villarados, according to the family.
“We just want justice for him and for everybody else. We don’t want more kids to die, to be killed. We just want Lexington to be safe,” said Sergio Arellano, Villarados’ father.
Sergio Alexis Villarados is the 32nd person killed in Lexington in 2021.
“People with guns are killing. They’re hurting. They’re stealing lives. They’re robbing people of their dreams,” said Alvis Villarau Rodriguez, Villarados’ mother, in Spanish. “There have been too many deaths this year and last year.”
She says Villarado was a good, smart kid who was loved deeply by a lot of people in the community. She says he wanted to be a professional soccer player. It’s a dream she says he will never get a chance to fulfill.
Villarau Rodriguez led the group in a one-mile march in honor of her son. They paused in front of the Lexington Police Department. She says they made the stop to remind the police department their family is waiting for answers in Villarados’ killing.
“We want justice not only for my cousin. We want justice for every other person whose life has been taken away,” said Ariana Villarados, Sergio Alexis Villarados’ cousin. “Their souls need to rest in peace.”
