Gun violence survivor describes ‘traumatic’ night of triple shooting in Highlands

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – A victim of gun violence is speaking out after a three-victim shooting in the Highlands neighborhood last weekend that left two people dead and hundreds of others fleeing for their lives.

For Olivia Barczynski, an evening with friends turned into a night of reliving her trauma: she found herself among hundreds of people running from gunfire along Baxter Avenue.

“Everyone was running and ducking. And it wasn't just a few shots. It was several. I had never heard anything like that,” Barczynski said. “We didn't know where to go. We didn't know where the shots were coming from.”

For the first time in two years, Barczynski ventured out late into the night in Louisville with friends, visiting bars in the Highlands neighborhood, one of the city's most popular late-night areas. Now, Barczynski said that night in Louisville will likely be her last.

“I don't want to go out in Louisville anymore,” she said. “I don't feel safe. I don't think we can go out and have fun without there being some kind of problem.”

The triple shooting on Sunday evening was not the first time Barcyznski was so close to the muzzle of a gun.

“It was July 15, 2022. I was in a store in downtown Louisville. I was robbed and then they shot me in the face,” Barcyznski described.

A victim of a random act of violence, she spent months recovering and her injuries still affect her today. She is grateful that an arrest was made in her case, but still eagerly awaits the trial to learn why she was the victim of a shooting that night.

The fear now accompanies her every time she visits the city, and on Sunday evening everything returned full of anticipation.

“At that moment, I kind of froze and got some kind of PTSD. I had a seizure,” Barczynski said, thankful her friends were there to help her. “What was going to be a great night turned into a very traumatic night.”

But Barczynski doesn't let that trauma control her. She uses the social media app TikTok to share her story and give a voice to survivors like her.

“Sometimes survivors don't want to talk about it because they're afraid of retaliation or they're afraid something else will happen. So I make people around me aware, even people who may not have been affected by gun violence or think they never will be.”

In a post that has now received thousands of likes and hundreds of comments, she recounted her experiences on Baxter Avenue, urging people to put down their weapons and move toward a life where violence does not determine their future.

“I wish I could do more to stop this or just tell them that your own life means so much more than taking someone else's life,” Barcyznski said. “You can do whatever you want with your life, literally anything. Why would you choose violence?”

Barcyznski also uses her platform to encourage trauma survivors to seek help from friends, family, and professionals, and she herself actively participates in trauma support groups as she continues her journey to healing.

Both the University of Louisville Hospital and Norton Healthcare offer trauma support services.

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