Louisville police are investigating after at least four people were shot dead at a bank in the city’s downtown core Monday morning.
At least nine others, including two police officers, were injured, police said. The suspected lone shooter was also killed, investigators added.
Law enforcement, ambulances, and public safety vehicles line the street at the scene of a shooting in Louisville, Ky., Monday, April 10, 2023.
Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal via AP
Police said calls were received at 8:30 a.m. EDT of an “active aggressor” at the Old National Bank on East Main Street, not far from the Louisville Slugger Field and Waterfront Park. Officers were on scene within minutes, the force said on Twitter.
At 9:27 a.m., police said in a tweet it was confirming reports of an “active aggressor” and “multiple casualties.” The suspected shooter was later “neutralized,” police said in a 10:16 a.m. tweet.
Louisville Metro Police Department Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey told reporters that officers who arrived on the scene “encountered active gunshots still being fired inside the location at that time.”
Police exchanged gunfire with the shooter, who died after being shot. However, it was unclear whether the death was from police gunfire or a self-inflicted wound.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he lost one of his closest friends in the shooting, who police confirmed was Thomas Elliott.
“Tommy Elliott helped me build my law career, helped me become governor, gave me advice on being a good dad,” said Beshear, his voice shaking with emotion. “He’s one of the people I talked to most in the world, and very rarely were we talking about my job. He was an incredible friend.”
Also killed in the shooting were Josh Barrick, Jim Tutt and Juliana Farmer, police said.
“These are irreplaceable, amazing individuals that a terrible act of violence tore from all of us,” the governor said.
The shooter, identified by police as Connor Sturgeon, was an employee of the Old National Bank. Police had initially said he was 23 years old, but later clarified his age as 25.
Sturgeon joined the downtown branch as a full-time employee last year after working as an intern for three summers from 2018 to 2022, according to a LinkedIn profile page. Police said Sturgeon was live-streaming during the shooting. He had no prior contact with police, according to officials.
Law enforcement officers respond to an active shooter near the Old National Bank building on April 10, 2023 in Louisville, Kentucky. According to initial reports, there are multiple casualties but the shooter is no longer a threat.
Luke Sharrett/Getty Images
At least nine people were being treated for wounds, including two police officers. One of the officers, 26-year-old Nickolas Wilt, graduated from the police academy on March 31. He was in critical condition after being shot in the head and was undergoing surgery, the police chief said. At least three patients had been discharged.
The FBI said its agents were also responding to the shooting. An investigation is ongoing.
Law enforcement officers respond to an active shooter near the Old National Bank building on April 10, 2023 in Louisville, Kentucky. According to initial reports, there are multiple casualties but the shooter is no longer a threat.
Luke Sharrett/Getty Images
Monday’s slaying was the 15th mass shooting in the U.S. this year, which is the most during the first 100 days of a calendar year since 2009, when 16 incidents had occurred by April 10, according to a mass killings database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
The pace in 2009 slowed later in the year, with 32 mass killings recorded that year.
Going back to 2006, the first year for which data has been compiled, the years with the most mass killings were 2019 and 2022, with 45 and 42 mass killings recorded during each calendar year.
— with files from The Associated Press and Reuters
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