2023 Louisville bank shooting | |
---|---|
Location | Old National Bank, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
Coordinates | 38°15′20.51″N85°44′46.42″W / 38.2556972°N 85.7462278°W |
Date | April 10, 2023 8:36 [1] – 8:45 a.m. (EDT; UTC−04:00) |
Attack type | Mass shooting, mass murder, workplace shooting |
Weapons | Radical Firearms RF-15 AR-15–style rifle [2] [3] |
Deaths | 6 (including the perpetrator) |
Injured | 8 |
Perpetrator | Connor James Sturgeon [4] |
Motive | Possible desire to highlight lax gun laws |
On April 10, 2023, a mass shooting occurred at the Old National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Five people were killed, and eight others were injured, including two responding police officers. The shooter, 25-year-old former employee Connor James Sturgeon, was fatally shot by police.
External videos | |
---|---|
Footage of LMPD response to shooter | |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoAtXY24Wpw |
The shooting happened on the first floor of the Old National Bank on East Main Street, near Louisville Slugger Field and Waterfront Park. [5] [6] [7] The shooter used an AR-15 style rifle, according to an anonymous federal law enforcement source. [3]
Phone calls placed at around 8:38 a.m. EDT from the Old National Bank reported an active shooter in the area. The call was later changed to an active aggressor report. [8] [9] The employees of Old National Bank were in a conference room during a scheduled virtual meeting when the shooter opened fire. A manager at the bank said she observed the shooting through her computer. [10] After the first shots were fired, the shooter began livestreaming the shooting on Instagram until he was killed by officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD). The livestream was then taken down by Instagram. [11]
An eyewitness in the conference room recounted that those in the room heard a click before the shooter opened fire. Another had just walked past the conference room and thought the shooting was construction noise, before being alerted of the shooting by another employee. [12] Officers arrived at the bank three minutes after the first call. A woman who was at the intersection at the start of the shooting recounted that she saw a man lying near the entrance to a hotel before hearing shots and speeding off to a safer location. [13] The shooter had set himself up in an ambush position to target police officers. [14] Around 8:45 a.m., the LMPD confirmed that officers had exchanged gunfire with the shooter, who died of police-inflicted bullet wounds approximately five minutes after the police arrived. [9] [15]
Five people were killed in the shooting. All of the victims were employed at Old National Bank. They were: Josh Barrick, 40; Deana Eckert, 57 (who died in the hospital the same day); [16] Tommy Elliott, 63; Juliana Farmer, 45; and Jim Tutt, 64. Elliott was a personal friend and mentor of Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. [17]
The chief medical officer at University of Louisville Hospital said they had received nine patients, [lower-alpha 1] including two police officers, who were injured in the shooting. Three of them had been released later that afternoon, three were still in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and three who were critically wounded had required operations. One police officer required brain surgery. [18] [19]
The LMPD identified the perpetrator as 25-year-old Connor James Sturgeon (February 11, 1998 [20] – April 10, 2023), who was raised in Greenville, Indiana. [21] [22] [23] Sturgeon attended Floyd Central High School in Floyds Knobs as a teenager. [24] A former student told The Daily Beast that Sturgeon was a star athlete, and seen as a smart and popular student at Floyd Central. [4] Another student claimed that Sturgeon was kept home for most of the eighth grade after repeatedly suffering concussions playing football. [25] A spokesperson for Sturgeon's family confirmed that Sturgeon suffered several concussions. [26] After graduating from Floyd Central in the spring of 2016, Sturgeon moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where he attended the University of Alabama and graduated in December 2020, before moving back to Louisville where he was employed by the Old National Bank beginning in June 2021. [27] According to a LinkedIn page, he interned at the bank over previous summers, and had worked full-time at the bank for nearly two years. [18] A bank manager recalled him as being "low key" and "relaxed", and family members noted that he had depression. [28] [8] Several of his friends and members of his family expressed surprise over him being the perpetrator. [28] [8]
Prior to the shooting, Sturgeon messaged one of his friends stating that he felt suicidal and added that he wanted to kill as many people in the bank as he could, according to a police dispatcher. [29] Sturgeon's Instagram account featured mostly pictures of his family and friends, and some dark memes. One had the caption, "I could burn this whole place down," another featured a gif of a scene from Star Wars: The Force Awakens where character Kylo Ren says "I know what I have to do, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it", [30] and the last post before the attack said, "They won’t listen to words or protests. Let’s see if they hear this." [25]
Sturgeon legally purchased the AR-15 rifle from a Louisville dealer six days before the shooting. [31] Law enforcement sources said that Sturgeon left notes, one at his home and one on him, saying that part of his plan was to show how easily a person with mental illness could legally acquire a firearm in the United States. [32] [33] Sturgeon noted targeting "upper class white people" for its potential impactfulness on the issue was a motive for his actions. [34]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting with the investigation of the incident. [35] The shooting did not appear to involve a bank robbery, according to preliminary sources. [36]
The LMPD blocked streets and conducted a joint search of Sturgeon's home in the Camp Taylor neighborhood near Interstate 264, located 7.4 miles (11.9 km) south of the bank. [37]
The LMPD report documented the shooter's motive as: [38]
Connor Sturgeon writes his "goals" to "tell my story" and "impact change - gun access." Connor Sturgeon then proceeds to list his "story" involving having good family and friends and doing everything right in his professional and social life. Connor goes on to say he was able to buy a gun and highlighting again "politicians with no interest in making things better" and "stop letting anyone buy guns or this will keep happening."
The Old National Bank building closed in the aftermath of the shooting, and reopened in June 2023 at a new location in Louisville. [39]
As of April 2023, the shooter's brain is retained and will be tested for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain condition caused by repeated trauma to the head. [26] [40] [41]
Governor of Kentucky Andy Beshear said one of the victims, Tommy Elliott, was among his closest friends. Elliott was the senior vice president of Old National Bank. [18] [14] Beshear tweeted that he was heading to the city in response to the shooting. [42] [43] Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued a statement that he and his wife, Elaine Chao, were devastated. A similar statement was made by Louisville mayor Craig Greenberg, who stated that the community would come together to heal and help prevent similar acts of gun violence. [36] Representative Morgan McGarvey, whose district includes Louisville, thanked first responders, and noted that the shooting took place only weeks after the Nashville school shooting. [44]
President Joe Biden offered his condolences to the victims of the shooting and pushed for gun reform from Senate Republicans. He had made similar comments shortly after the Nashville school shooting, saying he had exhausted what he can do through executive action and that Congress needed to act. [45] [46]
Old National Bank CEO Jim Ryan issued a statement that the safety of employees and those they serve was extremely important and that the company was deploying employee assistance support. [12]
Vadim Dale is an Australian-American policeman and former reality television personality. He was featured on the 2004 American reality television dating show Outback Jack, where he met his wife, Natalie. In 2005, he relocated to Natalie's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, where he joined the Louisville Metro Police Department.
The Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) began operations on January 6, 2003, as part of the creation of the consolidated city-county government in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It was formed by the merger of the Jefferson County Police Department and the Louisville Division of Police. The Louisville Metro Police Department has been headed by Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel since January 2, 2023. LMPD divides Jefferson County into eight patrol divisions and operates a number of special investigative and support units. The LMPD is currently negotiating a consent decree with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) subsequent to a 2023 investigation by the DOJ that concluded that the LMPD engaged in a decades long pattern of civil rights abuses.
The 2018 Toronto shooting, known locally as the Danforth shooting, was a mass shooting that occurred on Danforth Avenue in the Greektown neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the night of July 22, 2018. Faisal Hussain killed two people and wounded thirteen using a Smith & Wesson M&P .40-calibre handgun. He died by suicide after a shootout with Toronto Police Service (TPS) officers. Despite a year long investigation, authorities were unable to determine a motive for the shooting. They noted that Hussain had mental health issues and a long time obsession with violence.
On September 6, 2018, a mass shooting occurred in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. At 9:06 am EDT, Omar Santa-Perez opened fire with a Taurus PT-809E 9mm pistol equipped with standard and hollow-point ammunition, in the lobby of the Fifth Third Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, killing three people. He was then shot and killed by responding police officers.
On February 15, 2019, a mass shooting took place at Henry Pratt Company in Aurora, Illinois, United States. Six people died, including the perpetrator, 45-year-old former employee Gary Montez Martin, who was shot and killed by responding police officers. Six others were injured, including five police officers.
On August 4, 2019, 24-year-old Connor Betts shot and killed nine people, including his brother, and wounded 17 others near the entrance of the Ned Peppers Bar in the Oregon District of Dayton, Ohio. Betts was fatally shot by responding police officers 32 seconds after the first shots were fired. A total of 27 people were taken to area hospitals. It is the deadliest mass shooting to occur in Ohio since the 1975 Easter Sunday Massacre.
On August 31, 2019, a spree shooting occurred in the West Texas cities of Midland and Odessa, involving a gunman shooting multiple people from a vehicle. Eight people were killed, including the perpetrator, and twenty-five people were injured, including three police officers. It was the third major mass shooting to take place in the United States in August 2019, following the El Paso Walmart shooting and the Dayton shooting.
On March 13, 2020, Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black American woman, was fatally shot in her Louisville, Kentucky apartment when at least seven police officers forced entry into the apartment as part of an investigation into drug dealing operations. Three Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers—Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove—were involved in the shooting. Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, was inside the apartment with her when the plainclothes officers knocked on the door and then forced entry. The officers said that they announced themselves as police before forcing entry, but Walker said he did not hear any announcement, thought the officers were intruders, and fired a warning shot at them. The shot hit Mattingly in the leg, and the officers fired 32 shots in return. Walker was unhurt but Taylor, who was behind Walker, was hit by six bullets and died. During the incident, Hankison moved to the side of the apartment and shot 10 bullets through a covered window and glass door. According to police, Taylor's home was never searched.
On June 1, 2020, David McAtee, a 53-year-old African-American man, was fatally shot by the Kentucky Army National Guard in Louisville during nationwide protests following the murder of George Floyd and the killing of Breonna Taylor. The Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) and National Guard were in the area to enforce a curfew. According to officials, the police and soldiers were fired upon by McAtee, and two Louisville officers and two National Guardsmen returned fire. McAtee was killed by a shot fired from a guardsman. The body cams of the police involved were deactivated during the shooting, in violation of department policy. Hours later, police chief Steve Conrad was fired by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.
The Breonna Taylor protests were a series of police brutality protests surrounding the killing of Breonna Taylor. Taylor was a 26-year-old African-American woman who was fatally shot by plainclothes officers of the Louisville Metro Police Department on March 13, 2020. Police were initially given "no-knock" search warrant, but orders were changed to "knock and announce" before the raid. Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who was inside the apartment with her during the raid, said he thought the officers were intruders. He fired one shot, hitting officer Mattingly in the leg, and the officers fired 32 shots in return, killing Taylor.
On June 30, 2022, a mass shooting involving police officers occurred in Allen, Kentucky, United States. Three police officers and a police dog were killed, and four others were injured, including three police officers. The shooter, 49-year-old Lance Storz, was arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder of a police officer.
On October 13, 2022, a mass shooting occurred in the Hedingham neighborhood of Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Five people were killed, and two others were injured. The accused, a male juvenile named Austin Thompson, was detained after being cornered by police at a nearby residence and was in critical condition from a gunshot wound to the head sustained during the incident. Thompson survived his head injury and has begun to receive physical rehabilitation. He was transferred from a hospital to the medical unit of a juvenile correctional facility.
On May 15, 2023, a mass shooting occurred in Farmington, New Mexico, United States. Three people were killed, and six others were wounded, before the shooter, 18-year-old Beau Wilson, was killed by police.