Hamza Travis Nagdy, leader of Breonna Taylor protests in Louisville, killed in shooting

In Louisville, Hamza Travis Nagdy, a young protest leader known for his energy and optimism amid the city’s movement for racial and social justice has been fatally shot, according to reports.

Incident

Nagdy, 21, has been identified as the victim of a shooting during a car jacking near the University of Louisville campus. LMPD’s homicide unit is investigating, and currently no suspects have been identified.

Reports say Nagdy was a regular at Black Lives Matter protests demanding justice for Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old woman who was fatally shot by Louisville Metro police when they executed a no knock warrant.

Hamza Travis Nagdy was an activist

Hamza Travis Nagdy was known as a leader, heading the protests in chants with a bullhorn. He recently led a protest urging citizens to vote in the 2020 U.S. election where he voted for the first time.

Antonio T-Made Taylor, an independent reporter and youth mentor, recalled the joy of watching Nagdy cast his first ballot and said his death is a “huge loss” for the community.

“He’s irreplaceable,” Taylor said.

“Travis really believed he could help change systemic racism. He believed he could be a big part of that change.”

“What I’m hoping is he will become a symbol of the violence that’s going on, and people will finally give it the attention that we need to be giving to this record number of homicides in our city. …We’re just hoping that he will become a symbol of what great lives we are going to lose if we don’t wrap a movement around what’s going on.”

Rest in peace