In the early morning hours of November 19, 2021, Fred O’Bannon, Jr., a 37-year-old construction worker, was shot and killed while sitting in his truck in Louisville, Kentucky. O'Bannon, a father of five, was working an overnight shift for Louisville Paving and Construction at a site on Interstate 264 at the Dixie Highway exit. The incident, which authorities believe began as an attempted carjacking, cut short the life of a man remembered by his family as a loving and supportive presence.
The man responsible for O'Bannon's death, Keyshaun Stewart, also shot and wounded an off-duty Louisville Metro Police officer, Sergeant Chris Lane, during the same series of events that night. Lane, who was also working at the construction site, was shot in the face but survived. Following the shootings, Stewart fled on foot, but was pursued and eventually shot and apprehended by the wounded officer.
In September 2025, a Jefferson County jury found Keyshaun Stewart guilty of the murder of Fred O'Bannon. The jury also convicted him on multiple other charges, including the attempted murder of a police officer. While the jury found Stewart to be mentally ill at the time of the crimes, they recommended a sentence of life in prison. The verdict brought a sense of relief and a long-awaited measure of justice to O'Bannon's grieving family, who had endured nearly four years of legal proceedings.
