Authorities said that a shooter in downtown Louisville on Monday morning shot five people to death and wounded eight others.
The sound of gunfire coming from the Old National Bank Building, which is just across from Louisville Slugger Field, broke through the bustle of morning rush hour.
By 8:30 a.m., the first emergency calls began to come in, and three minutes after being sent, police arrived.
Acting Chief of the Louisville Metro Police Department Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel stated that the suspect, 25-year-old Connor Sturgeon, was shot and killed by police after exchanging gunfire with responding officers.
She further said that Sturgeon, who used a firearm to carry out the attack, worked for the bank. Gwinn-Villaroel claimed she was still unsure of the gunman’s method of obtaining it. She said that the incident was broadcast live online.
“Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky stated, Louisville “I’m sad and I’m hurting today. And I am aware that a great many of others are.”
Louisville Both the suspect and the victims were bank workers.
The four people slain in the shooting on Monday afternoon have been identified by Louisville officials as Joshua Barrick, 40, Thomas Elliott, 63, James Tutt, 64, and Juliana Farmer. (Authorities provided different Farmer ages and different Elliott spellings.)
According to a similar-named LinkedIn page, Elliott was a senior vice president at Old National Bank, and Beshear said the two were good friends.
An emotional Beshear told reporters, “Tommy Elliott helped me grow my law profession, helped me become governor, and offered me guidance on being a good dad.
Police said on Monday night that Deanna Eckert, age 57, had also passed away. According to a profile on LinkedIn with the same name, Eckert worked as an executive administrative officer at the bank.
Three police officers were among the nine patients who were taken with injuries to the University of Louisville Hospital, Louisville according to the hospital.
On Monday afternoon, three persons were treated and released, three others were sent to the hospital with non-life-threatening wounds, and three more remained in serious condition. Gunshot wounds were treated in five of the patients.
On March 31, Officer Nickolas Wilt, who had recently graduated from the police school, was one of those hurt. According to Gwinn-Villaroel, Wilt had brain surgery after being shot in the head.
Officer Nickolas Wilt, a new officer to the LMPD, ran towards the gunfire today to save lives. He remains in critical condition after being shot in the head. pic.twitter.com/yPNZBfAl7I
— LMPD (@LMPD) April 10, 2023
She said, “I have gone down there with the family and have provided my love and support. I have been with all of the families today to express our love and support for them, and whatever else they need from LMPD we will provide.”
The Old National Bank Building, a multistory structure with a bank on the first level and offices and houses further up, is where the shooting took place.
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According to the authorities, all of the casualties were either police or bank personnel.
Authorities conveyed their sorrow at the fatal incident.
The shooting’s news prompted condolences and pleas for improvements to the nation’s gun regulations from those in and outside of Louisville.
The killing was described as a “horrific tragedy” and a “evil act of gun violence” by Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg.
Kentucky senator and leader of the Senate’s Republican party, Mitch McConnell, said he and his wife Elaine were “devastated” by the news of the assault and were praying for the victims.
In a statement, President Biden stated that the country was once more “in grief following a terrible act of gun violence,” and he and first wife Jill Biden expressed their gratitude to the responding police officers as well as their prayers for the victims.
Also, Biden urged Lawmakers to enact tighter gun safety regulations. He said, “How many more People must die before Republicans in Congress do action to save our neighbourhoods?”
A new Kentucky legislation that prohibits state and local law enforcement from supporting any federal prohibitions on weapons, ammunition, or firearms accessories went into effect late last month.
The measure was enacted by Kentucky’s Republican-majority legislature, and when Democratic governor Steve Beshear neither signed nor vetoed it, it became a law.
According to data gathered by the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 146 mass shootings in the United States so far this year.