The Death of a Hero

By Abdul Sharif

13 May 2008

Louisville, Ky

What would you do if you were headed home on the bus after a hard day of work and you noticed a man using foul language and becoming physically aggressive towards a group of teenage girls? Would you sit back and do nothing while letting the situation continue? Or would you step up and put a stop to the harassment you see taking place?

On the night of May 10, 2008, 26 year old father of three, Timothy D. Barbour was faced with that exact predicament. Headed home around 10:40pm after work, Timothy D. Barbour decided to do more than just sit back and allow what he saw taking place continue. Instead of choosing to ignore, Mr. Barbour chose to react. Without hesitation, Timothy D. Barbour chose to intervene in the physical altercation taking place between those teenage girls and the young man that was callously harassing them. Timothy D. Barbour attempted to use words instead of weapons to defuse a situation that many would have just let go on.

Timothy's actions more than likely saved the life of one if not all of the teenage girls involved in that heated argument. But, unfortunately, his heroic actions led to the end of his own life.

No one could have known that the man harassing those teenage girls was carrying a weapon. And sadly, as Timothy was headed off the bus at his stop, he was hit by gunfire along with another man that was also riding the bus. Timothy lay bleeding on ground while the other wounded man remained on the bus, which pulled away from the scene to bring the other passengers to safety.

Timothy was rushed to the hospital, but was pronounced dead only minutes later at 11:19pm.

In the inner city, scenes of young men falling victim to gunfire is common place. But, most people that don't live in the inner city turn a blind eye to street violence because they view it as a problem of "thugs killing thugs." And while it is true that gang violence does exist, and many inner city victims of murder were involved in illegal activities, many times people forget or don't want to recognize the innocent men and woman that fall victim to inner city gun violence.

A few hours ago, at a vigil held at 10th & Broadway (the scene of Timothy's murder) a hero finally received his recognition.

With their faces streaming with tears and covered with grief, the family of Timothy D. Barbour gathered at the spot were their courageous son was slain. In the middle of the sea of spectators, mourners and media, Timothy D. Barbour's mother along with his oldest sister Shekita, Timothy's 5 month old daughter, and his other family members had their chance to let the world know how great of a person it lost.

These pictures represent the pain, and sadness that the Barbour family is experiencing right now. They also represent the support and love that our community has for their lost loved one. And even though you cannot feel their pain, hopefully you can see it through these photos.