Gun linked to shooting that blinded a 5-year-old child has been recovered, police say

Karla Ward
·2 min read

Georgetown police say they have recovered a gun tied to a shooting that blinded a 5-year-old Lexington boy, and they are asking the public to help solve the case.

Police said they were investigating a call about shots fired at an apartment in Georgetown March 27 when they seized the gun, which was apparently linked to the December shooting that injured Malakai Roberts.

Though Georgetown police did not name Malakai, they said in a Facebook post Friday that the gun they found was linked to a shooting in which “an innocent five-year-old child was struck by rounds that were shot into the home where the child was sleeping.”

Malakai was asleep in bed with his mom when shots were fired into their home on Catera Trace in Lexington early Dec. 21, leaving him blind.

Georgetown police said they were called to the Overlook at Elkhorn Creek Apartments on River Chase Path March 27 because some shots had been fired from one of the apartments, and “rounds went into the apartments next door.”

Police said the people who were inside the apartment from which the shots were fired fled before officers arrived.

“Detectives were called to assist with the investigation, and as a result, a significant amount of marijuana and several weapons were seized” from that apartment, police said.

Georgetown police said one of the firearms was linked to the Lexington shooting through cooperation between their police department, Lexington police and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“We are asking for the public’s help in solving this assault on an innocent child,” Georgetown police said.

They asked that anyone with information call them at (502) 863-7826 or call Lexington police at (859) 258-3600.

Last month, a friend of Malakai’s family provided an update on his condition on one of the GoFundMe accounts set up for Malakai.

Kristi Joseph wrote that he “has a long way to go but he is attending regular school with the assistance of a personal aide and is learning a new ‘normal.’ He will continue appointments at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and be monitored until time for his next surgery. We are so happy with his attitude and determination to succeed in performing daily tasks on his own. We want to thank everyone for their prayers and support.”

An earlier update attributed to Malakai’s mom, Cacy Roberts, said ophthalmologists at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital had determined that the child’s total vision loss is permanent.

‘Kind of shook me up.’ Lexington cop raising money for 6-year-old blinded by shooting

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